An Unexpected Return
by emiliiz
Summary: Milla disappears, but comes back after nineteen years. Definitely rated M and sets in the Skyrim storyline in later chapters. Dragonborn/Ulfric S. Enjoy!
1. Prologue

**The story sets before the gameplay story and is written into it in later chapters. Some things has changed to fit my story, for your information. Is something obviously wrong, it is changed on purpose. **

**Rated M: :)**

**Oh, and Bethesda owns everything except the names I have created and the storyline before the actual 'gamestory'. Enjoy!**

* * *

Jarl Ulfric Stormcloak stood in front of his throne, his back facing the main hall in the Palace of the Kings. He could hear footsteps coming from the shadows by the door.

As the stranger approached him faster and heavier, he could not help it but to react.

"Only the foolish or the courageous approach a Jarl without summons." he mumbled, thinking it maybe was another one of those unimportant couriers.

"Then I must be very foolish, or very courageous." a voice answered. Female, a Nord like himself. He froze, and his eyes opened widely. He tried to move, but he could not.

Galmar Stone-Fist, his second-in-command looked at him. "Jarl?"

He finally managed to turn around to see who interrupted him like that, but his sight was almost completely blurred. "I..." he stuttered. "You..."  
He took a long break to come to his sences, rubbing his eyes to be able to see properly. "I thought you were dead."

* * *

**Please read! To be sure that everyone gets the point, this is not the first chapter. This is just a flashback, chapter 1 comes after this.**


	2. Chapter 1

**4E 180 - twenty-one years earlier, in the city of Whiterun**

"Come on, mother. Stop adding tomatoes to the basket, we have everything we need," Milla said as she almost dragged her mother away from the wooden box with the unnormally large tomatoes.

"We can never get enough food, you know that," Milla's mother, Inger, told her.

"Okay, pay for the food. I'll go find dad."

Milla's dad, Eirik, was at the blacksmith's forge near the city gate, buying a brand new armor for his daughter. "Here. Try this on, Mill," he said and handed her the heavy steel armor. She went behind the tanning rack by the forge, and not long after, she came out from behind the rack with the shiny piece of metal all strapped on.

"Wow…" Eirik said to himself, while he studied his daughter's armor.

"It's a bit… tight, isn't it?" Milla complained, not sounding very impressed as she adjusted the shoulder pads.

"I can fix that," Adrianne Avenicci, the cheerful blacksmith, interrupted. Milla went back behind the piece of leather on the tanning rack, undressing the steel armor and putting her old leather armor back on, and Adrianne began working on the straps on the back of the armor.

"Have you met my father?" she commented as she worked. "He's about to become the Jarl's new steward up at Dragonsreach."

"Oh, we're just passing through Whiterun, collecting the most necessary," Eirik answered. "And besides, I wanted to give my daughter her birthday present today."

"Oh yeah? From where are you traveling? And to where are you going home?" was Adrianne's next questions, as she finished the last strap that needed adjustments.

"We actually decided to make Whiterun out final stop before heading back home, to Shor's Stone. We're having a hard time, Frostbite Spiders are infesting the mine." The devastation in Eirik's eyes was nothing but obvious, and Adrianne noticed that right away. "But, when this fresh-faced warrior is ready for adventures, we have nothing to worry about."

He poked Milla's arm, startling her. "Hey, don't tease me. My birthday was yesterday, and like you said, I'm about to become a warrior, so you better watch out," she laughed, and hit her father's chest gently, to not actually hurt him.

"Yeah, about that. You said your birthday was yesterday." Adrianne lifted the armor up as she said. "If I'm not too rude to ask, how old are you?"

"I'm eighteen."

"Ah, I remember when I was eighteen. My father used to call me 'Warmaiden', because I always played with swords all the time. That was before I became a blacksmith for a living, and before I opened the shop. Now I am happily running it with my beloved Ulfberth," she looked at Milla, who once again went behind the tanning rack to try the armor. It was perfect.

"Here you go," Eirik handed Adrianne the one-hundred Septims and said.

"Keep them. Consider the armor a gift from me."

"Thank you so much," Milla and Eirik both said, before Inger finally joined them.

"There you are!" she shouted when she noticed them by the pole Adrianne leaned against. "Oh, Milla. You look great." She could not help it but to comment after seeing the armor Milla wore.

"Yeah, I love it."

"Well, I hope to see you all later sometime, maybe if you're back in Whiterun," Adrianne commented and sat down on the grindstone with a dull iron sword in her hand.

"We hope so too. Bye!" they all waved and disappeared through the city gate.

* * *

"It's getting dark… Maybe we should settle a camp," Inger suggested and looked at the darkened sky. Secunda barely touched Masser as the two moons appeared brighter and brighter over them.

"Look, mother. Darkwater Crossing. Maybe we can stay there," Milla commented, with a finger pointing at the wooden sign just a few steps ahead of them.

"Good idea. Come on, Inger. We have our own personal bodyguard now. There is nothing to be scared of. I don't think anything can get past our daughter in her new armor," Eirik giggled.

"Dad… You're so funny! But you're also right, nothing can get past me," Milla jumped off as houses and bonfires came to sight.

"Hi," Milla said when she approached Annekke Crag-Jumper, the first person she noticed when entering the area between the houses and tents. "Is it alright if my family and I put up our tents here for the night?"

"Yeah, sure. There's a free spot right there, by the river."

As Inger and Eirik put the three tents up, Milla had already placed herself on a big rock on the other side of the river, patting a mountain fox. The light brown pelt was shining in Secunda's white light.

Suddenly, the sound of horse hooves drowned all the other sounds, and a pack of horses came galloping from the road towards Riften. They seemed important. The horses wore banners with the head of a bear on it. Milla now recognized them, Jarl Stormcloak and his men, probably on their way back to Windhelm.

"Hey, Bear! What owes this surprise?" Annekke grinned as the horses stopped and a layer of sand flew threw the air. By the way she called his nickname, it seemed like she knew him quite well.

"Good evening, Ann! Do you have a place for us?" the Jarl asked as he stepped down on the ground.

"I always have, Jarl," Annekke then took the Jarl's horse to the nearest fence and tied its rein to it.

"Mom, look! There's Ulfric!" a little girl shouted as she noticed the young man next to another horse.

"Hi, Bjork. I have missed you," he said as he walked towards the girl to hug her. She was about half his size, and almost disappeared in the pelt he wore around his shoulders.

Milla on the other hand had seen enough of the hugging and greeting, and walking into the massive forest behind her to explore it.

"Now, who is this?" the Jarl wondered when he noticed Eirik and Inger sitting in front of their tents, making a bonfire.

Eirik hurried onto his feet to introduce himself and his wife. "I'm Eirik, and this is my wife Inger. We're staying here for the night."

"Ah good, the more the merrier!" the Jarl laughed and clapped his hands, before turning around to find Ulfric. "Come on, Ulfric, don't be so shy. Come here and say hello."

"Yes, father," Ulfric sighed and placed himself next to the man.

"But what about the third tent and bedroll?"

"Oh, that's our daughter's. I haven't seen her since we got here, really. I don't know where she is," Eirik explained, looking around the area to locate Milla.

"This is not like her, Eirik, to just... disappear like that," Inger said worried. "We have to find her." After a few minutes, everyone looked for Milla. Even the Stormcloak guards looked for her on their rounds.

Not long after, Milla popped out of the woods behind Annekke's house with a bear pelt on her back. "What are we looking for?"

"Milla, where were you?" Inger exclaimed, wiping the drops of sweat away from her forehead.

"Mom… Come on, stop worrying."

"Yes, yes. Just.. tell me where you're going next time, please," Inger followed Milla to her tent, which Milla placed the large pelt in, forming a mattress.

Eirik stood next to the big tent the Jarl and Ulfric were staying in, with a tankard in his hand, laughing and chatting with the others. Inger joined the chat before they went inside Annekke's house, leaving Milla alone in her tent, where she admired her new armor. She wore her old one now, the leather armor she got from her mother and father two years ago.

Her curiosity struck when she heard someone outside the tent, and peaked out through the tent curtain. There was Ulfric, inside his and his father's tent, poking the ground with a wooden stick. She did not really care about him though, she studied the tent instead. She had never seen a tent that big, but without noticing, Ulfric was looking at her with a discreet smile on his face. When she finally noticed, she closed the tent curtain with embarrassment, her cheeks becoming one shade darker crimson.

Ulfric could not stop smiling to himself, before he heard Bjork outside the tent. "Ulfric, Ulfric. Come play!" She grabbed his arm, trying to drag him with her outside.

"Not now, Bjork. Maybe tomorrow. Could you do me favor?"

Milla heard his voice. His masculine voice, humming through her ears.

"Yes, yes. What is it?" Bjork eagerly asked, jumping up and down to get her energy out.

"Can you go to the tent over there to your left and get to know the girl inside it?" Ulfric requested, still with a smile on his face.

Bjork sighed and put her stubborn expression on, crossing her arms. "Only if she'll play."

"Bjork…"

"Okay, okay. I'll do it," she then had to agree, and stumped over to Milla's tent. "Hello! Someone there?"

Milla, who heard their entire conversation, played along with Ulfric's game. "Who is it?"

"Bjork, like the tree. Because of my black hair," she answered proudly.

Milla held her hand over her mouth to avoid letting Bjork hear her giggles. "Come in, then."

Inside the house, however, the elders laughed and drank. The Jarl kept talking about how disappointed he was that his son did not like any of the women in Windhelm. "I mean, even though he came back from the Great War five years ago, he can still find himself a woman. He even studied with the Greybeards when he was younger, but he dropped out of the lessons when he went to war. I… I am giving him the title of Jarl when I die."

His last sentence made everyone stare at him, but Annekke was the first to react. "You aren't… dying, are you?"

"I am keeping myself alive, if that is what you want to know," the Jarl confessed. "I haven't seen Ulfric smile since before the war, before he studied with the Greybeards. Before… his mother died."

"But he smiled when you arrived earlier, I saw it," Annekke explained.

"Yes, and I saw that too, but I recognize his smiles. I know when he smiles over a girl. When I see that smile, I can die peacefully, knowing my son will be alright."

"But, Jarl…"

"No… Don't. I can wait." The Bear then continued drinking and laughing like he did before his confessions.

* * *

"So your name is Milla, you live in Shor's Stone and you're about to become a warrior," Bjork said to herself to remember every little detail.

"Tell me.. Bjork.. Why do you need this information?" Milla asked, even though she knew the answer.

"Ulfric wanted it."

"Did he, now?" Milla raised her eyebrow to seem surprised by Bjork's response. "Well, why don't you go tell him?"

With her incredible speed, Bjork was now on her way back to Ulfric's tent. "I have so much to tell you!" was her first comment when she arrived, and jumped into Ulfric's lap.

"Ouf, you're heavier than last time..." he had to comment, tickling her waist. Once Ulfric stopped the tickling, she was ready to tell him what she knew.

"Okay, the girl in the tent is Milla, she lives in Shor's Stone and is about to become a warrior."

A wide grin then appeared on Bjork's face.

"Good job. Now go inside to your mother," he said and practically threw Bjork out of his tent.

He smiled again.

He tried to peak, but he could not see Milla through the tent curtain of her tent. But he saw movements when Eirik and Inger walked out of the house and towards their tents.

"Good night, Milla!" Inger shouted to her daughter before crawling inside her own tent.

"..Good night, mother."

Ulfric had now finally heard her voice, and it got stuck to his brain right away. Her voice was the last thing he thought of before falling asleep, and that was what he dreamed about that entire night.


	3. Chapter 2

When morning had dawned, everyone was gathered to say goodbye to each other. Milla and her parents had already packed their tents and bedrolls, and were ready to take their leave. The air was chill, drops of water covered the leaves on the birch trees, which the sun made shine through the thick forests around the area.

"I hope you all enjoyed staying here. It's been quite a while since last time Darkwater Crossing had this many visitors, all at the same time," Annekke laughed, giving Jarl Stormcloak the reins to his horse.

"I'm glad we decided to stay here, and no place else," Eirik said cheerfully.

The Jarl agreed and nodded, and smiled and laughed all at once. Milla looked at Ulfric, meeting his eyes eventually. It felt like something tickled her stomach from inside it. She had to look away to stop herself from giggling louder than she had ever giggled before.

The Jarl, his son, and his men were the first to take their leave, but they did not get far on the road back to snowy Windhelm. A bandit raid suddenly came through the small village, and Ulfric noticed the tip of an iron arrow fly through the air and right into the throat of Milla's mother. As she hit the ground, drops of her blood hit Milla's skin and the leather on Eirik's armor.

Milla jumped out of the way to avoid the rest of the arrows, readying her bow and aiming at the archer's head. She made the shot, and killed him. Now, Ulfric saw how well she handled the bow, and had a moment to be impressed by it.

"Come on, son!" The Jarl yelled. "We have to go!"

"No, father! We must help them!" Ulfric ran as fast as he could back to help, but when he got there, the four bandits and the archer were all dead.

"Mother!" Milla cried and she ran to her mother's body. Eirik tried to stop her, but like he had said earlier, nothing or no one could ever be able to stop her.

"No, Milla!" He was finally was able to drag his daughter away from his dead wife, dropping to his knees next to Inger.

Ulfric ran towards them to hold Milla back as Eirik cried over his wife, tears streaming down his red cheeks. Milla covered her face with her hands and buried her face in the fur on Ulfric's cloak, him trying to comfort her, but the anger and heat went right to her head, before she silently passed out in his arms.

* * *

"Milla?" a smooth, female voice said to wake her up. "Milla!" Sylgja, Milla's best friend, sat by her bed with her hand in her own, the other stroking her forehead.

Nothing seemed to work.

"Oh, god. Who is that man?" Sylgja laughed, the irony filled her voice and her expression.

"Wh-what?" Milla finally woke up and said, jumping out of her bed as if she was late for something.

"Ha ha, fooled you," Sylgja teased. "Hey, Eirik told me what happened, I am so sorry. We will all miss her."

"When… did I get here? Where's father?" Milla soon noticed that she stood up a little too fast, and stumbled on her way to the door. She almost felt drunk, as if she had way too many bottles of mead last night.

"Uh, you got here just a few hours ago. And Eirik, he's outside," Sylgja informed her.

"Father! Are you okay?" Milla stumbled out on the front porch.

"Yes, I am fine. I just.. can't imagine our life here without Inger. But I think you and I, my girl, will be alright." Eirik embraced his daughter, who finally found her balance, and she returned the hug.

He suddenly stopped the hug when he remembered the letter he was supposed to give Milla. "Here.." he started. "I promised to give you this."

"A letter? From who?" Milla wondered when Eirik put the piece of paper in her hand, folding her fingers over it.

"Just read it," was Eirik's only and final comment before heading towards the smelter, grabbing the shovel on the way.

Milla went to her usual spot on he small rock behind the house, where she sat down quietly and held the letter in front of her. She was actually shocked to see who sent it.

'_Dear Milla._

_I am so sorry about your mother's death._

_I know we didn't speak much in Darkwater Crossing, and for that I am sorry too._

_If you have the opportunity, come see me in Windhelm. I spend most of my time wandering the streets, or at the Palace._

_Sincerely yours, Ulfric Stormcloak.'_

She had always wanted to go to Windhelm, but she had never had a reason to go there. She had now though, she could see Ulfric, she _wanted_ to see Ulfric. If only Eirik would let her go.

* * *

Neither Milla or Eirik said anything during dinner, the only sound was the knife and fork hitting the plate whenever they wanted a new bite of the venison, before Eirik finally broke the uncomfortable silence to ask what the letter said.

"Oh, nothing…" Milla mumbled, poking the venison chop with the fork. "Uh, father? You said we needed more wine and mead. I… thought I could go to Windhelm to buy those supplies."

"No," was Eirik's response, and nothing more.

"Come on, father. I am eighteen! I'm practically an adult." She had to think twice about what she just said. "What am I saying? I _am_ an adult. Please. You can even come with me if you want to."

"This isn't about that boy, is it?"

Milla didn't answer to his last question, just looked at her plate.

"Milla…" That tone in his voice. She had never heard it before. He actually sounded disappointed. "Okay.. I will go with you, but do me a favor, don't get your hopes up about him."

"Really? Oh, thank you! And I promise, my hopes are as low as my mother is in the ground."

"Good, we'll go there tomorrow."

Milla couldn't stop smiling. "Thank you so much, father. I think both of us need an adventure." She then stood up from her chair, and stretched her arms upwards and yawned. "I think I'll go to bed now…"

"Sleep well, my girl. My beautiful, beautiful girl.."

Milla's room was not of the biggest, but she had the space she needed. On her desk, she kept her journal, where all her stories from her childhood were written. She grabbed it on her way to her bed, which she fell right into. She made sure to always have a quill and ink in her drawer, so she could write whenever she felt it necessary.

'_Good evening, journal.'_ Now was one of those times she felt she needed to add something to the blank pages in the leather-covered book. _'I think I have met the man of my dreams."_

* * *

"Father, wake up!" Milla shook her sleeping father to wake him up. "Remember what you promised me. I'll be outside, okay?"

She was all ready with her steel armor strapped on tightly, her bow fastened on her back, and the quiver, which she had remembered to fill with new iron arrows.

Eirik turned around in bed like he was fishbait trying to avoid the fishhook, and mumbled things Milla could not understand, but she catched the last thing he said before she went out the door, "I'll be out in a minute…"

"So, are you ready to go to Windhelm?" Sylgja asked as she handed Milla her satchel with the things she needed on the way; potions, ingredients and food.

"Yes, I'm so excited," Milla giggled, unable to not show how eager she was. "If only dad would hurry!"

"Yes, yes, I'm here," Eirik rushed, putting his own satchel on his back as soon as he closed the door.

"Finally! Let's go," Milla grinned, and hugged Sylgja goodbye before jumping off on the road to the north.

After well five or six hours, they passed a small Imperial outpost when they crossed the border to Eastmarch, and Eirik started talking about his father, Milla's grandfather. "You know, I see more and more of your grandfather in you. No wonder you're named after him…" He took a break, as if he was preparing himself for his next sentence. "Mikkel was a great warrior, and I hope you will be as loving and caring as he was when you grow older."

Milla could easily see that he was memorizing, but when she noticed a village down the road, she had to interrupt him. "Look! There's Kynesgrove. We must be close."

The snow had started to fall and hit their skin, but melted right away. Milla loved the snowy weather, and had no problem being cold. Her Nordic blood kept her warm.

They stopped outside the stables to have a chat with the stable owner, but Milla was to excited to wait, and ran towards the city gates with an incredible speed. The ground was all covered with a thin layer of snow, and Milla's boots left prints in it.

She noticed a market to her left when she entered the city, and again, her curiousity struck. She just had to explore. She drowned in a crowd of people; Nords, and so many other races. Races she had never seen before.

"Can I help you? You look a bit lost," a voice behind her said. When she turned around, she was met by a tall, yellow-skinned woman, and by her ears, it looked like she was an elf.

"No, I'm just having a quick look."

"You're new around here, are you not?" the woman asked again.

"Yes, this is my first time in this city," Milla smiled, but noticed some sort of fear in the woman's golden eyes. "If I'm not offending you by asking… What are you?"

"Don't worry, we get many new visitors here in Windhelm, and I am not the kind to be offended by questions like that. I am a High elf. An Altmer. I came here from Summerset Isles six years ago, when the Aldmeri Dominion and the Empire destroyed my hometown with their wars and battles.."

"I'm sorry.." Milla mumbled, almost whispering.

"It's alright. I.. have to go. Be careful where you set your feet, right across here is where all the elves live. The Nords aren't exactly happy about us being here."

"Oh, well.. Bye." Milla stuttered before the elf completely disappeared out of her sight.

As Milla walked out of the market place, she began some heavy thinking. 'My dad used to tell me how Skyrim belongs to the Nords, and I had to agree. Dad's word was the law. At least for a 5-year-old me.. But that woman.. Elf.. She was so nice,' she thought to herself, frowning a bit. She passed Candlehearth Hall, the local inn. That would come in handy later, for all the gossip, and the meals. As she dreamed of a venison chop with grilled leeks and bread with goat cheese on the side, she suddenly stood in front of the Palace of the Kings.

* * *

"Father, I'm going out!" Ulfric shouted, holding his hand on the big, golden door, ready to open it.

"To do what, Ulfric?" the Jarl's crisp, tired voice asked. "You're always out there doing nothing."

"Yeah, I know.."

The snow fastened to Ulfric's blonde hair and whatever he called a beard on his chin, but that was nothing he was not used to. He as well loved the cold weather, just like Milla, who had taken her time to talk to a Nord woman in the Stone Quarter, the first area she entered when arriving inside the city walls. The woman was Elda Early-Dawn, she had just herited the Inn from her parents, and therefore spent all her time there working as the innkeeper.

'What…' Ulfric thought to himself when he noticed a piece of paper in the thin layer of snow. As he picked it up and read the note, he was shocked to see his own letter.

"Guard!" he exclaimed, pointing in the direction of the first guard he noticed. "Did you see who dropped this?"

The guard, however, only giggled. "Yeah.. Hair as blonde as yours, and that steel armor! Not a scratch on it. Must have been new. If not, she must've been one hell of a warrior."

He knew right away who the guard talked about , and started looking for Milla; her blonde hair, her smile, her blue eyes. Anything that would make him recognize her.

He suddenly spotted the shiny armor and the beautiful hair in the distance, his legs feeling like jelly, but he had to talk to her.

Elda jumped when she noticed the Jarl's son, and bowed as low as she possibly could. "Good day, my lord." Milla could not understand why Elda suddenly bowed like that, and turned around to see who this 'lord' was, interrupting their conversation.

She gasped and almost lost her breath when she saw Ulfric, and clamped her teeth together to stop herself from running up to him and throw her arms around his neck.

"Uh…" was the only sound she managed to make, before needing a break to choose her next word carefully. "Hello…"

"Oh, come here," Ulfric grinned and waved Milla in his direction.

She caught herself actually running towards him, but that, she cared less about. She hugged him tighter that she had ever hugged anyone, and he returned it. Oh, he smelled so good! She inhaled his scent through her nose slowly to remember it, locks of his hair mixing with her own.

"Come on, let me show you around," he continued after separating, and stretched out his arm, reaching for Milla's hand. She did not hesitate to grab his. "I see you got my letter. I gave it to your father before he took you home."

"He gave it to me right after I woke up."

"But what are you doing here?" he wondered. "I mean, except from wanting to choke me with your hugs."

"Ha ha, very funny," Milla had to laugh, not quite able to look into his eyes without blushing. "Well, actually.. I told dad that we should travel here to get the mead and wine we need. And yes, as the matter of fact, choking you with my hug was a part of the plan."

What she really wanted to do more than anything at than point, was jump up and down, and run around like a lunatic, but she remained calm.

"…Is this something you're good at?" Milla then asked, a bit more seriously than their previous conversation.

"What do you mean?"

"Stealing a girl's heart.."

Ulfric chuckled again. "Only the ones I really like…"

Milla again felt her blood on it's way to her head, and her cheeks turned pink, then crimson. "So is that why you sent Bjork to interrogate me?"

"Oh, I.. Wha.. Huh?" Ulfric stuttered, feeling a little embarrassed that she actually knew.

"She was kind enough to tell me why she needed the information."

The two stopped in front of the entrance to Candlehearth Hall, but Milla was not sure she wanted to go in, like Ulfric was on his way to do.

"I.. thought we could have a drink. If you want to, or are you scared to be seen with the Jarl's son?" he joked, still holding Milla's hand, refusing to let go of it.

"I don't really… drink." Milla confessed. "At least, not that much."

"Didn't you just say you were her to collect wine and mead?"

"Yeah, for the rest of my hometown. We have a small bunkhouse with three rental rooms, which my mother was partly in charge of."

"I see.. Well, we'll skip the drink, then," Ulfric smiled. His warm, gentle smile gave Milla butterflies, and she smiled back at him, but was soon interrupted by all the tall, stony buildings she just had to study.

"I have never been in a city this large before. Until now, Whiterun was the biggest. I mean, Shor's Stone isn't exactly the largest town Skyrim houses.." she explained, looking at the Palace of the Kings, then at Ulfric.

"Shor's Stone, eh? I have been there once. My mother took me there when I was two or three years old, barely old enough to remember it. Is the statue of Talos still standing there?"

"I haven't seen it, no. And believe me, I.. we would have known, we worship Talos as much as any other true Nord."

"Milla, come on! We're heading home!" Eirik interrupted them, his satchel stuffed with bottles of wine, and another satchel for Milla with the mead. "Oh.. Good day, Ulfric."

Ulfric's response was his usual nod and smile, but this time, he actually added a few words. "I met Milla and guided her through the city."

"Yeah… I was lost.." Milla joked, looking utterly serious.

"Of course you were, Mill," Eirik joked back, making his daughter snare at him.

"I better get back.." Ulfric then continued, slightly pointing at the Palace.

"Alright. It was nice of you to show me your city," Milla told him, and looked deeply into his crested blue eyes.

"Take care now." Whispering into her ear, he kissed her cheek before pulling away, which automatically turned Milla's pinkish cheeks completely crimson. She had a second to watch his back as he slowly walked away, enjoying the snow as it lasted.

"Let's go," Eirik said again.

Milla tossed the satchel onto her back and headed for the doors, which Eirik opened for her like the gentleman of a father he was.

* * *

It was just before midnight, and Milla and her father were almost back in Shor's Stone when Eirik suddenly said, "Are you sure you're ready for that?"

"Ready for what?"

"For him? I know you, Milla. I saw the way the two of you looked at each other. I have never seen that look on your face before, and it is the exact same look I gave Inger during our first night under the stars.. You like him, don't you?" He did not sound angry, just upset. Not every father wants to see his daughter in the hands of someone else.

"Dad, I'm all grown up. I know losing mom wasn't easy, but I have a life of my own.. Did you really think that ten years ago, when I played with your old swords and tried mom's old dressed, I would even meet him, the Jarl's son?"

"I just… Don't want to lose you as well. You're everything I have left," was all he said, before Milla swore she noticed a grey cloud appear over his head.

She sighed. "I will always be your daughter. You're not going to lose me."

Milla could easily see the devastation in Eirik's eyes, but decided not to comment it any more than she had already done.

"Can't we talk about this when we get home?" she said instead, when she had realized what day tomorrow was. "Sylgja's birthday is tomorrow.."


	4. Chapter 3

"Good morning, son," The Jarl sighed when Ulfric finally joined the others in the main hall for breakfast.

"It is," Ulfric chuckled, sitting down on his spot on the bench. The Jarl kept and constant eye on Ulfric, who smiled unnormally much, and he finally saw what he had waited for the past ten years.

"You.. you have met someone, haven't you?" his crisp voice asked, the blink in his eyes lit the main hall up.

"Uh, yes. I met Galmar yesterday, we had our usual drink."

"No, no! A girl. The one from Darkwater Crossing, right?" the Jarl coughed.

"Nothing can get past you, eh?" Ulfric laughed, but the room was quiet. Too quiet. "Father?"

The Jarl looked rather peacefully where he sat, his head tilted slightly to the side.

"Father!" Ulfric hurried to him, but soon realized he was talking to his dead body, trying to speak to him.

"I'm… so sorry," Ulfric's old friends and newly appointed steward, Jorleif, said.

"He died peacefully. I couldn't ask for anything else, but… this soon?" Ulfric did not even look up from the floor he so intensely studied. "Guards.. Move the body.. Please."

"Ulfric. You're Windhelm's new jarl, like your father said you would be after he died. We'll need to arrange a ceremony, and a burial for you father."

"Yeah. I.. I guess," Ulfric mumbled, making the whole 'becoming jarl'-thing not sound so exciting as it should be. "I want letter sent to Shor's Stone, to begin with."

The Palace of the Kings' own courier readied himself for the trip, and left as soon as Ulfric gave him the letter. "Deliver this to Milla."

* * *

"Hi, Sylgja!" Milla shouted when she noticed the hardworking girl by the smelter. "Happy birthday!"

The dark-haired girl wiped the sweat away from her forehead and threw the shovel on pile of coal, brushing the dust of her miner's shirt. Milla and Sylgja had been friends ever since Sylgja was born, when a four-year-old Milla were the one to look after her when she was left in their town by two unknown people.

"Can you believe it? Fifteen years old already. What's it like?"

"No change, really," Sylgja sighed heavily. "But you're eighteen. I still feel like a kid when I'm with you.. You're all grown up." Milla noticed the sound of her voice, sorry and devastated, yet cheerful and tired.

"Don't worry, you'll turn eighteen soon enough. So what are your plans for today?" Milla asked, sitting down on the pile of chopped wood next to the hot smelter.

"You remember when I told you I found my parents' location? I thought I'd go see them. They live in Darkwater Crossing, not very far from here."

"Yeah, I know where it is…" Milla mumbled, not sounding convinced. "Darkwater Crossing, you say? We stayed there on our way back from Whiterun."

"Really?" Sylgja responded, grabbing the shovel again, throwing another bunch of coal into the smelter.

"Excuse me, are you Milla?" a man asked, holding the letter from Windhelm in his hands. As Milla reached the porch of her house, ready to go in, she noticed right away that he was a courier, and not any normal courier, a rather important one.

"I am," Milla answered, grinning.

"I have something I'm supposed to deliver." the courier started. "From the Jarl of Windhelm." He handed her the letter, and left right away.

"What's that?" Eirik asked when Milla entered the house, trying to open the letter she received.

"A letter from the Jarl of Windhelm. I wonder what he wants.."

"Read it then, maybe it's important."

She coughed, readying herself to read.

'Dear_ Milla.' _she started.

_I am sorry, but I won't be able to visit Shor's Stone in the nearest future._

_What I am able to do however, is inviting you to the Palace of the Kings._

_My father died, and I am now in his position, just like he wished for me._

_Sincerely yours, Jarl Ulfric Stormcloak.'_

Milla and Eirik were both quiet, looking at each other, their faces spoke for themselves.

"By the gods…" Eirik were the first to comment. "The Jarl died… Well, you better hurry to Windhelm, then."

"What do you mean?"

"I am going to Riften to work, you know that, and I am not leaving you here by yourself," Eirik laughed. "I.. don't like it, especially now that he's the Jarl, but I want you to go be with him until I get back. Just don't come home with a ring on your finger, I want to be there when that happens." Milla could hear the irony in his voice, but at the same time, she knew he meant it. He gave her a tight hug and handed her an empty satchel, sending her to pack her things.

* * *

"I have so many changes.. Jorleif! Find Galmar. I need to see him." Ulfric demanded, not even looking at the steward, and only a few minutes went by before the rugged warrior of a man, Galmar Stone-Fist, stood in the main hall.

"Galmar!" he chuckled. "You know I always told you what your position would be when I became Jarl? Well, it's yours. Still interested?"

"It would be my pleasure," Galmar stumbled over to the table and sat down on the bench as if he had lived in the Palace his whole life. "So, Ulfric. Jarl. What is your first change?"

"Isn't that obvious, Galmar? You hate them as much as I do. I would like to see the quarter the elves live in be named something. Any suggestions?"

"Why don't we call it what we've always called it? 'The Gray Quarter'."

And so it was called.

"And remove those elves who still hasn't resided there. If they don't cooperate, force them," Ulfric then yelled to the guard who were ready to get rid of as many damned elves as possible. "Get to work!"

"How does it feel? Being Jarl, I mean," Galmar wondered, pouring himself a mug of mead.

"Oh, Galmar. This is just the beginning, trust me."

* * *

"Are you ready?" Eirik asked, hands resting on his daughter's shoulders, looking into her eyes.

"Only if you are." She looked back into his eyes, seeing all the things she should not see. His childhood, growing up, meeting Inger.. Losing Inger. All the pain inside, she knew he was not ready, but at the same time, he was. "I don't want you to think I'm leaving you for him, because I am not."

"I know," Eirik assured, giving her a light push. "Don't worry. Now go!"

Sylgja came running. She was not going to let Milla go without hugging her goodbye. "I'm going to miss you so much, Mill."

"You too," Milla whispered, mostly breathing into Sylgja's ear. "Oh, and don't worry, I will send all the young men I can find in Windhelm here to steal your heart, you just wait and see."

Taking her leave made her think back at her past, as if she was leaving Shor's Stone for good, even though she was not. She could not do anything else but to shake the feeling off and turning around to wave the others goodbye.

It had even started to snow a little when she had passed the steamy waterholes, and approached the Imperial outpost.

"Not much further now.." she said to herself. Her Nord blood kept her warm from the now more intense snowy weather. The smell of freshly made food and recently made bonfires reached her nose, notifying her that she was close to Kynesgrove.

There! She could see the stables, the swift horses, the carriage ready to take someone somewhere. "Back again are we?" a familiar voice laughed when she stopped before the bridge to the snowy city. The stable-owner throwing hay into the horses' food-bins made Milla realize how hungry she was, but gave a smile as her answer before walking towards the gates, and fast.

"Oh, Milla? Back so soon?" Elda Early-Dawn was the first to notice her on her way back to Candlehearth Hall with food supplies and bottles of wine.

"Yes," Milla only grinned. "Need any help?"

With an obvious nod and an insecure smile on the corner of her mouth, Elda handed Milla the basket with vegetables and meat.

"What are you doing here anyway?"

"My dad sent me here," Milla responded, carrying the basket to the kitchens. "He's going to Riften to work."

"Well, I guess you need a room, then?" Elda laughed, grabbing a cloth to wash the counter and a broom to sweep the floors as soon as they got inside.

"Yeah, it wouldn't be so nice sleeping on the snowy ground outside, so I'll take one," the corner of Milla's mouth turned upward as she joked.

"As always, ten Septims that is." The clinging sound of coin hitting the counter was the only sound in the room, most of the tenants were already in bed, or out drinking.

"Is it always this quiet in here?" Milla wondered suddenly.

"Most of the Windhelm's citizens are highly sophisticated, at least the elders who are still alive, and most of them are staying here. The ones you see out on the streets now are probably working, drinking or doing nothing. The rest of the citizens live with their family in Valunstrad."

"Then I'll be one of those doing nothing. You remember last time I was here, and I spoke with Ulfric Stormcloak? I have to see him.."

"Good luck getting in there, he's Windhelm's most important man now," Elda said, shocked. It almost looked like she did not think Milla would even manage set her feet inside the Palace, but she was going to, no matter what.

It did not take her long to get out of the inn, and to stand in front of the big, golden doors of the enormous palace.

"I'm sorry," a guard placed himself in front of her to prevent her from entering. "I can not let you in. Orders by the Jarl."

"But that's exactly who I'm here to see, the Jarl. I even have a letter to prove his invitation."

"I am only following orders. Just walk away, and violence can be avoided."

Milla could not believe what she just heard. Would the guard really be violent towards her if she did not walk away? She would not have that. She could easily take down both the guards in front of the door, they were not the problem. She was going in, and no one was going to stop her. As she pushed on and placed her hand on the door, the guard grabbed her by her tiny waist as soon. "Let go of me!" she yelled.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"I said, let go of me!"

"This is your lucky day after all," he laughed falsely, and looked at the other guard, then at Milla. "You'll get to see the Jarl himself after all."

"Let me.. Go!" she yelled again, now inside approaching the throne, eyes staring at her as the guard carried her to Ulfric. He was not able to see her face, her blonde hair covering the most of it as she was staring at the guard, trying to loosen his grip.

Ulfric stood up, disturbed by the noise. "What is all this rabble about?"

The guard put Milla down, holding her by her wrist instead. She slowly faced Ulfric, eyes burning with the rage to a guard not even willing to listen to her, her eyebrow was raised high.

"Milla," he continued. "You here. Guard! Let go of her, now!"

"But Jarl, you told us to take care of trespassers. This one was trespassing," the guard stuttered, letting go of Milla's wrist, which she rubbed to avoid the pain.

"Did you give her a chance to explain?"

"No, but.."

"Get out of here.." said Ulfric eventually, waving the guard towards the door, before stepping down from his throne to welcome Milla with a soft kiss on her cheek, a warm hug and a whisper in her ear, "You're finally here.."

Arms still holding tight around Ulfric, Milla closed her eyes to remember that exact moment and smiled widely, yet discreetly. "I received your letter," she then said, still hugging, still just as tight.

"Good," Ulfric separated, looking deeply into her icy-blue eyes, which he could clearly see showed the warmth in her mind, and the kindness in her soul. "Please sit."

"So.. You're the jarl now. What's that like?"

"You don't sound very eager about it?" Ulfric had to comment, watching her as she grabbed a piece of bread and had a large chunk of it.

"Oh, I am. This is big. I just.. I didn't think it would happen so fast," she sighed, taking a break, looking at her hands playing with the bread. "Father went to Riften to work, so he sent me here. He didn't want me to stay in Shor's Stone without him, especially not after losing mother.. So he hoped you would be happy about me staying in Windhelm while he's away."

"I am. Don't worry, you're quite welcome here," Ulfric assured. Milla was not exactly convinced after looking at Galmar, who stood at his place next to the throne, arms crossed. "Let me show you around." Grabbing Milla's hand and helping her up, he interrupted the intense staring between her and his right hand-man.

"Galmar, entertain the others while I'm gone."

"As you will, Ulfric," Galmar mumbled aggressively, but that was nothing Ulfric was not used to. After all, they had been friends a long time.

"This is the war room, father planned all his attacks in past wars here. I will do all the planning here now, with Galmar by my side." He took a long break, as if talking about his father gave him a big lump in his throat. "And up these stairs and down the hallway is the Jarl's Quarter, the bedroom in which I will be sleeping now." Opening the door, he guided Milla up the first set of stairs. A cozy table and a single chair in front of the next set of stairs decorated the corner, and they continued up another set of stairs. They encountered another hallway with not a single window or door, the only thing decorating the walls were the torches to give the place some light. Upon walking up the third set of stairs and entering through the door at the top, Milla got the butterflies again, just by walking behind him. His harsh, yet firm and smooth walk was almost too much for her.

The next hallway led to the fourth set of stairs and another door, but this hallway had three doors on each side, probably where some of the more important guards, the steward and Galmar slept. Some of the doors were even open for Milla to peak in when passing them. The beds in the first rooms looked all slept in, but the last room's only bed seemed untouched.

"Here we are," Ulfric grinned, turning around to meet Milla's eyes again, holding his hand up to let Milla go first.

"Wow.. What a big room!" she exclaimed when entering the room. In the corner to her left, there was a small table with two chairs. There were dressers and wardrobes all the way to the next corner, and all the way around to Ulfric's desk and another wardrobe next to it. In the middle of the room was what Milla recognized as some sort of platform, with the enormous bed on it, and a banner with the head of a bear, the same banner as the horses wore in Darkwater Crossing when she first met Ulfric. "My room is only a corner compared to this. And a double bed? Wow.."

Ulfric had to chuckle while readying one of the chairs for Milla. "Here, sit down."

"I tell you, if I had a bed like that, I wouldn't have to fall out of it every time I had a bad dream," she cheerfully explained while sitting down in the most comfortable chair she had ever sat in.

"Do you have bad dreams often?" Ulfric poured some mead into two tankards on the counter in the other corner, looking at Milla as he asked.

"I used to have them all the time when I was younger, but not so much now. Just.. sometimes."

"Yeah, speaking of ages, how old are you? I mean, if I'm not too rude to ask a lady a question like that. A lady in a very shiny, and very expensive armor."

Milla started looking around for a roll of paper, two of them sticking out of a basket behind her chair. "Here," she started, giving the first roll to Ulfric as he sat down on the chair opposite her, grabbing a quill afterwards. "Write you birth year on this piece of paper, and I'll do the same. We'll then switch notes when we're finished. I know this may sound like a childish game, but in some cases, it's easier."

"I think it sounds like a good idea."

They both started writing, Milla writing carefully and thoroughly as always. She had a pretty handwriting, curls and waves on most letters. Folding the piece of paper, Milla put her note in Ulfric's hand, and he put his note in hers.

"4E 152.." she read to herself.

"4E 162.. Hm. I remember when I was eighteen," Ulfric commented, staring at the number on the paper, then at Milla.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. I was preparing myself for the Great War. And when I was seventeen, going on eighteen, I was studying with the Greybeards, up at High Hrothgar. I had finished the studies, actually, ready to go home."

Milla's eyes lit up when Ulfric mentioned the War, and the Greybeards. "Really? You fought in the Great War?" She grabbed her tankard, putting it to her mouth to pour in. "Is that why you don't like the elves that resides here in Windhelm? Because of the Thalmor? My dad told me some details about the war a couple of years ago."

Ulfric sighed heavily, still holding Milla's note in his hands. "Yes, that too, but mostly because of the one who interrogated me, tortured me and held me captured, the first emissary of the Thalmor, Elenwen. Those golden eyes, the yellow skin.."

Milla could easily see how this was hurting him to talk about, and grabbed his hand and told him to stop, before moving her hand to his cheek. "Is that how you gained this scar?"

"Yes.."

A smile appeared in the corner of Milla's mouth, as her thumb gently stroked Ulfric's cheek. "Don't talk about it if it brings back too many painful memories. Let's just.. Enjoy each other's company, okay?" She looked at him as he looked at her hand holding his, before she sat herself on the very edge of the chair to hug him. He put his hands around her waist to return the hug, holding her as tight as he possibly could. For a moment, they just sat there and looked into each other's eyes, before Ulfric mumbled, "Where are you staying? The inn?"

"Yes, I have rented a room there."

"Well, that was no good use of your money. You'll be staying here, of course," Ulfric chuckled, not even trying to let go of Milla's hand. Her soft, slender fingers was just curling into his.

"Oh.. I-"

"Now go get you things," Ulfric interrupted, standing up to walk towards the door, with Milla's hand in his. "I will have someone readying a room for you in the meantime."

Before she could even think about leaving, Ulfric held her close to his body, to share each other's warmth. His breath was hitting Milla's forehead as he placed a gentle kiss on it before letting go of her. "Don't be long," he whispered.

"I won't." Milla then took off, fast legs running down the stairs and down the hallway, back to the war room and the main hall, and eventually out through the golden doors.

Ulfric joined the others in the main hall not long after, walking right over to his steward, Jorleif. "The empty room closest to mine, I need it ready for Milla," he whispered into Jorleif's ear, making the young steward grin wider than he had done in a long time.

"Was that the girl you constantly talked about the other day?" Galmar wondered when Ulfric sat down on his throne after Jorleif went to the empty bedroom. Stroking the beard he barely had, he slowly grinned and quietly chuckled.

"This is the woman of my life, Galmar. Things went all the wrong way with Rikke seven years ago, it was a mistake when I was hurt and wounded in the war, but I am not going to let that stop me from loving Milla. And when I accomplish all my plans and become High King of Skyrim, she's going to be the High Queen, my queen."

"High Queen? Are you sure?" Galmar asked, to Ulfric's sudden surprise. "I mean, she's not exactly from a noble house, and she's a warrior. She's meant to be out fighting."

"And she's a hell of a good one, Galmar. I am a warrior too, don't forget that." The way Galmar talked about Milla, it almost sounded as if he would rather have her gone. "If you don't like her being here, you can leave. That goes for the rest of you as well!" he frowned and shouted to everyone in the main hall, guards and servants.

What he had not noticed, was that Milla was standing just inside the door with her satchel in her hand and her bow on her back. "What's going on?" she asked, taking slow steps towards the throne.

"I was.. Telling Galmar about my plans. Come with me," Ulfric explained and reached for Milla's satchel to grab it. "Let me show you to your room."

"Thank you. Maybe you can tell me about these plans of yours sometime?"

"Yes, maybe."

They walked up the same hallway, with the same speed, but now Milla walked next to Ulfric and not behind him. That, however, did not stop her for looking at him in the corner of her eye. She was just about to take a turn and enter the empty room, but Ulfric grabbed her arm and guided her into to his room instead. "But.. This is your room," she said confused.

"You said you liked it, and I want you to stay here. With me," Ulfric responded, putting Milla's satchel in the wardrobe next to his desk, and hung her bow on the weapon rack. "If you want to, of course."

"I.." Milla started, looking into his blinking eyes, mind racing from all the bad to all the good in only seconds. "I won't say no to that."

A grin appeared on Ulfric's face by her response, not able to take his eyes away from her. She was perfect in any way. "Good. Are you hungry? Dinner is almost ready."

"Oh, I'm starving!"

* * *

Milla was placed on the edge on the table, closest to Ulfric so she was first he laid eyes on when gazing through the main hall. Many of the female guards looked at Milla, then at each other and whispered things between themselves. Ulfric supported his head with his hand, eyes watching Milla as she cut a new bite of the chicken breast and put it her mouth, grabbing a crust of bread and gulped the mead in her cup.

She made sure to grab a venison chop as soon as she had finished the chicken breast. Some of the guards went back to their rounds, or to their rooms to rest, and the cook came to clear the table of empty plates and used goblets. Ulfric had thought Milla would dig in after she had provided herself with a large venison chop like that, but all she did was stabbing it with her fork, before yawning and stretching her arms upwards.

"Tired, are we?" Ulfric gave a chuckle, but the slight joke was not returned. Milla gave him her usual sarcastic expression, actually frightening him a little. "I'm sorry, let me follow you to bed. I have to tend the throne a little longer."

He stepped down and approached her, reaching for her hand. She grabbed it and stood up, following him to the war room and to the Jarl's Quarters.

"Did you enjoy your first evening at the palace?" Ulfric then asked when he followed Milla to his room, allowing her to walk in front and being the first to enter the quarters.

Sitting down on the bed, about to take her steel cuffed boots off, she giggled, "It was fun." Suddenly, she changed her tone, and her attitude. "I.. just missed my father for a second earlier. Hence stabbing the venison chop."

"Yeah, I noticed. Oh, uh.. Do you want me to leave while you undress?" He covered his eyes with his hand, doing his best not to peak.

Milla had to chuckle. "What? Have you never seen a woman in her underwear before?"

"I have. I'm just not.. used to it."

She gently put her armor in the dresser behind her and removed her bracers, placing them on the table. She wore an Amulet of Talos around her neck, symbolizing her belief in him. "Come on… Look at me."

At first he actually hesitated, but removed his hand from his eyes and slowly turned around. Everything about her was perfect; her hair, her narrow shoulders, her curves, her long and slender, yet muscular and strong legs. Her face. Her eyes, as blue as his own. The amulet resting on her chest. There she was, a half nude woman in front of the Jarl of Windhelm. He could not quite understand how she managed to just stand there, but she did. "You're.. beautiful."

Her face lit up like a torch when Ulfric finally managed to stutter a few words, but those kind of words makes every person smile. She then jumped onto the bed and got comfortable under the pelt. "What kind of pelt is this?" she exclaimed, rubbing the soft fur.

"Oh.. Yes, the pelt.." Ulfric was almost mesmerized, the way he just stood there and studied her. "I brought it back from the Reach. Cave bear."

She suspiciously watched him as he shook his head, trying to come to his senses again. "What just went on in that head of yours, eh?"

"Nothing.." He sat down on the bed next to Milla as he still watched her, seeing all the beauty in her through her eyes. He placed his hand on her chin, rested his lips on her forehead, forming a soft kiss. "Good night," he whispered into her ear, his beard tickling her cheek as he pulled away, approaching the door to let her sleep after he stroked her hair.

"Good night, my love," he whispered so no one but him could hear it, while he closed the door.


	5. Chapter 4

Milla could not remember the last time she had slept that well. An entire night without waking up, falling down or bumping into something. She was alone last night when she went to bed and Ulfric kissed her good night, but something made the pelt move while she stretched her arms.

Her heart started pumping, eyes widening before she slowly turned around to see. There was Ulfric, in bed next to her. She was shocked by the fact that he actually placed her in not only the same room as him, but the same bed as well. She was not sure how to feel, but quickly shook that thought away, and thought about him instead.

She watched him sleep for a moment, stroking him over his hair and cheek. "Awake already?" his lips mumbled, eyes still closed.

"Yeah," Milla sighed cheerfully, rolling back onto her side of the bed. "But I was rather surprised that we slept in the same bed."

"We don't have to, if it makes you uncomfortable." He turned upwards, facing the ceiling while he stretched his arms.

Milla only chuckled, "Don't get me wrong, I don't mind." She quickly changed her expression towards him. "Father told me to not get my hopes up. He just… doesn't want to see me upset, or hurt."

"Do you think so?" Ulfric asked, turning towards Milla to look at her. "I mean, if we were to take our relationship one step further, do you think I would hurt you?"

"No.." But Milla was not sure, she had her doubts.

"Good. Now let me explain something to you. I have never met a woman like you, and I actually thought I never would. I'm glad I did."

They stayed in bed a little longer, facing each other. Ulfric rested his hand on Milla's cheek, his thumb stroking it gently as a smile appeared on the corner of her mouth. "I like it here," she whispered as she closed her eyes to just feel his thumb stroking her pink cheek, butterflies appearing in her stomach.

"And I wish we could stay here all day, but I have a throne to tend," Ulfric said, removing the pelt before standing up.

Milla chuckled again. "I'm not going anywhere."

Ulfric had put his clothes and boots in the dresser before he went to bed the night before, and he walked right to it, drawing Milla's gaze to his muscles. And his scars. About nine or ten large scars from several torture tools in all directions on his back. She could not take her eyes away from them, and was too mesmerized to make a comment. It all made her think about her own mark, just below her hair on her neck. She had no idea what it meant, and was too shy to start talking about it, so she left it unspoken of, just like she had been doing the past six years. "When you're ready to get up from bed, come join me in the main hall," Ulfric then commented, tightening the belt around his waist.

Milla rolled over again, occupying the entire bed. She could definitely see herself living her for good, if it meant sleeping in that bed every night.

She stood up from bed, yawning and rubbing her eyes before heading towards the wardrobe where she had put her armor. A piece of paper fell out as she grabbed the armor, and she quickly picked it up. The note was almost unreadable, only a few words was to recognize. _'King, war, Thu'um.'_ Without hesitation, she put the note back of the shelf in the wardrobe, and started dressing, strapping all the leather straps on the back and tightened the belt.

She was just on her way out of the war room and into to the main hall when she overheard Ulfric and Galmar chatting, "What are you going to do, Ulfric?" Galmar's voice was easily recognizable as Milla hid behind the wall, just close enough for her to eavesdrop on the two men's conversation. When she peaked, she could see Galmar standing right in front of the throne, in a rather tense position, arms crossing.

"You know my plans better than anyone, Galmar," Ulfric chuckled slightly. "Do me a favor, will you?"

"Whatever you need, my Jarl."

"Take Jorleif down to the marketplace. Tell the blacksmith to make a ring. A ring of the finest and most solid gold he has."

"Yes, Jarl," Galmar mumbled as he and Jorleif left the main hall.

'A ring?' Milla thought. Inside her head, she wanted to cry and smile, laugh and yell, run and lie down, all at the same time. She drew her gaze to the window, then to the floor, then to her hand.

"There you are!" she heard Ulfric say when he had noticed her standing behind the wall, by the corner.

"Good morning to you too," Milla laughed. Her skin was warm, her cheeks crimson, but not enough for Ulfric to see. She could not let him know she had eavesdropped.

Ulfric watched as Milla helped herself with a crust of bread and some slices of cheese. "Where did Galmar and Jorleif go?" she asked, pouring mead into the empty cup next to her plate.

"They went to collect something for me," Ulfric said, pretending to read a letter. However, what he was reading, was the note he had asked Milla's father to give to her.

"Oh, alright. Anything important?"

Ulfric could not help looking at her with a questioning expression. "Why are you asking?"

She did not answer, just smiled widely and looked at her almost empty plate. In a hurry, she took one final bite of the bread and stood up.

"Uhm, where are you going?" the Jarl exclaimed.

"Out," he started. "I'm not forced to sit in here all day long."

Ulfric only grunted by her comment, making Milla chuckle as she stopped in front of the doors. "Is there anything you need? My Jarl?"

"Yes," said Ulfric. "You, in one piece. Be careful out there, okay? Wherever you're going."

"Don't worry, I'll be back by this evening."

'Hmpf. I'm not forced to sit in here. I can come and go as I please,' Ulfric thought, looking back at the time before he became Jarl, when he stepped outside to do nothing. And that was exactly what he was going to do.

* * *

Milla carefully jumped off a small cliff when she noticed a stronghold. An Orc stronghold. She did not want to interfere with anything, so she kept her distance. "Wouldn't want Ulfric to wait," she giggled in her own presence, but unawarely bumped into someone. Arriving in Kynesgrove, she had walked into a crowd of people, surprisingly scared of something.

"What is going on here?" Milla asked the man she bumped into. He wore miner's clothes, and he was not very old, perhaps a little older than Ulfric.

"A wolf. Inside the house! Someone has to kill it."

"Let me take care of it. I doubt any of you lot will," Milla smirked, heading towards the inn, ignoring all the comments behind her back. The man willingly handed her the key, allowing her to unlock the door and enter.

The candles were fully lit, and Milla noticed the brown pelt shine through the room. It looked so peaceful as it stood by the opened window with it's back towards Milla. She should never have taken that next step, when something cracked in the floorboard and the wolf turned to Milla, slightly growling.

For a moment, they stood in front of each other, eyes staring. Milla slowly and carefully sat down on her knees, as the wolf did not attack her. Was this really a friendly wolf? It could not be.. Suddenly, she remembered the last piece of venison she saved for her trip in case she got hungry. Grabbing it, she held it in her hand for the wolf to take. The wolf however, did not take its big, black eyes away from Milla, as it studied every move she made.

She reached her hand out to let the wolf eat the venison, but had her other hand ready on the dagger in case something happened. A cold breeze came through the opened window, which led towards the road to Windhelm.

Milla almost jumped when the wolf peacefully ate the meat in her hand, and licked it clean before having a last quick look at her and jumped out of the window.

"Is it dead?" the man asked when Milla walked back out of the house, brushing the dust of her knees.

"Actually.. It jumped out through the opened window."

"So you didn't kill it? Well, as long as it doesn't come back, I don't care." The man seemed stubborn, just like Ulfric. She thought of him as if she had known him all her life, but she had not, even though she wished she had.

Some of the other women in Kynesgrove had started a fire on the area in front of the mine entrance to cook food, and Milla discreetly sat down, just enjoying the weather, drawing her eyes towards the sky.

"A new face in Kynesgrove. You're not from here?" a girl said and sat down on the spot next to Milla.

"No, I'm just passing through."

The girl looked a little older than Milla, just a few years. "I'm Iddra," she introduced

"Milla."

"So Milla, do you travel a lot?"

Milla's eyes were lit up by the fire. "I have been lately, yes. My father left to work in Riften, so he sent me to Windhelm." She took a break, to choose her next words. "My mother died recently, and he didn't want me to stay in Shor's Stone by myself."

"Wow. I wish I could travel and explore, but I'm stuck here," Iddra chuckled.

"Yeah, well… I don't want to be stuck inside the palace all day, that's why I'm here now."

"The.. Palace?" Iddra questioned.

"Yes…"

"You're staying at the Palace of the Kings? Oh, I… Wow. You're a lucky one, aren't you? Especially now that Ulfric Stormcloak is the new Jarl," Iddra said, standing up to stir the venison stew in the pot. "All the women throughout Eastmarch has been completely smitten by him ever since was in his teens, but he rejected all of us."

"Wait, us?" Milla wondered.

"Believe me," Iddra started, before sitting back down with two wooden bowls in her hands. Giving one of them to Milla, she started digging in. "There isn't a single woman in Eastmarch who hasn't had a crush on Ulfric Stormcloak."

"Really?"

"And many of us even tried to get to know him, but for no good at all. He's really stubborn. At least, he seems like a good Jarl." It looked like Iddra spoke to herself, unaware of Milla's presence.

"He's not like that towards me.. Well, maybe he's being polite. He's the Jarl after all," Milla commented, finishing the bowl of stew.

"You're right!" a familiar voice shouted from behind the trees, barely in sight. "I am."

Two men came riding on the road from Windhelm, Milla recognizing them right away as the two women stood up. "You are so right, Milla. But that does not stop me from leaving the palace to do something fun."

"Why aren't you bowing?" Iddra whispered, grabbing Milla's hand to drag her down. Milla however, did not answer, did not even look down at the young Nord next to her. She only looked into Ulfric's teasing eyes.

"Ready to go?"

"Oh, so is that why you came here? To take me home?" Milla laughed, heading towards the horse.

"Well, if you want to walk home-.."

"No, I.." Milla stuttered, but figured out Ulfric's joke before she continued speaking.

Ulfric made room for her behind him on the saddle, holding her hand as she set her foot in the stirrup and threw her leg over the horse's back. The others watched in shock, but at the same time, joy and curiousity, as the Jarl of Windhelm took the ordinary warrior of a woman back to his palace.

The ride back to Windhelm was not long, but to Milla, it took forever. She caught herself holding a bit tighter around Ulfric's waist and resting her head on his shoulder. Galmar had left Jorleif to collect the ring and was just behind them, looking at them. Milla could feel his eyes following her.

"Here we are," Ulfric mumbled when arriving outside the stables. He was the first to jump off the horse to help Milla, arms reaching out to hold her as she slid down and placed her feet on the ground. She had her hands placed on his arms as he drew her closer for a second before he gave the horse's reins to the stable boy.


	6. Chapter 5

'_Good evening, journal._

_The life at the Palace of the Kings is absolutely a dream coming true. Although I never thought in a million years that I would be living with a Jarl, it's still wonderful…'_

Milla sat comfortably on the bed, the quill well planted in her right hand. Ulfric was back on his throne after handsomely coming to pick her up in Kynesgrove. But whatever she wrote, whatever she thought about, whatever she said to herself, she just could not think about anything else than what Iddra had told her.

The thought of Ulfric being introduced to several women before and after he went to the Great War, all from around Eastmarch, and him rejecting them all because he was _stubborn_? No. She would not believe it.

Milla had seen a loving and welcoming side of him, and that was the side she wanted to stick with, but still, she could not deny the fact that her father was right. Even though she almost melted every time she laid eyes on Ulfric, her hopes were not high at all, and she always kept in mind that Ulfric maybe behaved towards her like he did because he was the Jarl, he had to build his reputation to be a good one. The only problem left was that she met him before he became Jarl.

"Galmar, where did you put the ring?" Ulfric asked while he searched his pockets for the piece of gold.

"I gave it to you, remember? After I left Jorleif to collect it, and before you dragged me out to Kynesgrove just to get that damned girl of yours."

The comment Galmar made startled Ulfric right away. He would not let anyone talk about Milla like that. He stood up, fists tying until they turned white. "Don't talk about her like that, Galmar!"

"Look at you, look at what she has turned you into. You are going soft! What is taking you so long, eh?" Galmar wondered, talking louder than he should. "Why aren't you telling her how you feel? We have been friends for a long time now, long before you became Jarl, and I have never seen you like this. So… Soft."

Ulfric sat back down, taking a moment to process Galmar's speech. He then looked at his most trusted friend's expression, realizing he was right, before slowly stepping down from the throne and walked towards the war room.

"Ulfric!" Milla said cheerfully as the Jarl entered the bedroom and closed the door behind him, avoiding Milla's gaze. "Is something wrong?"

She put the quill and journal away and stood up from the bed as Ulfric approached her faster. "I have to talk to you.." he mumbled, reaching for the lock of hair in her face to remove it.

She smiled.

"First of all.." she interrupted him, grabbing his hand to hold it. "I need you to be completely honest with me."

"Of course. What is it?"

"I have.. heard some stories. From the people in Kynesgrove. How come you're not stubborn, or rejecting me like the other girls you have been introduced to?" Her forehead frowned into many tiny wrinkles, and she tilted her head.

The question came like an arrow out of nowhere and hit his face.

"Answer me…" Milla whispered after too many minutes of silence between the two of them. "Is it true? That every Eastmarch-girl were smitten by you ever since you were in your teens?" She took a short step away, crossing her arms.

"Let me exp-"

"Why.. Why are you not like that towards me?" she continued, not allowing Ulfric to explain at all. She started walking around in the room like some lunatic, waving her arms while questioning him.

"Please, let me explain!" Ulfric felt his anger raising, the heat rushing to his head, for not being able to speak.

"Is it because I'm from the Rift, huh? Because I'm not like the women from Eastmarch?" Milla kept asking all those questions Ulfric had hoped he would never have to answer to, but there they were, floating in the air like a rainy cloud.

She suddenly stopped for a second to have a look at him, his empty stare frightened her. "Maybe you're just being polite, treating me with kindness…"

"Quiet! Let me explain!" Ulfric yelled, approaching Milla fast. He grabbed her wrists, holding them tight as a tear appeared in the corner of her eye.

"Yes, it is true. I rejected all the women my father introduced me to before I went to war, but only because none of them affected me, or impressed me," he explained, his now calm voice hummed through Milla's ears. His hands slid down from her wrists to her hands, slowly holding on to her smooth fingers instead. "Not like you have done."

After taking a deep breath, eyes staring into hers, he placed his hand on her cheek and stroked it with his thumb. Milla closed her eyes again to feel it, she loved it when he did that. He let go of her other hand to place his hand on her other cheek, doing to same thing. Her bright, blue eyes shined through by the dim light from the torches on the walls. As he stared into her eyes, he gently rested his forehead on hers. Milla placed her hand on Ulfric's arm, as if she wanted him to let go of her, but she wanted the opposite.

He slowly guided her closer to him and into a soft and gentle kiss.

It felt like it never stopped, and Milla did not want it to either. That kiss was everything she had wanted for the past week, nothing else. As their lips separated, she longed for him, folding her arms around his neck in a hug, which he gladly returned.

She rested her head on the fur on his cloak, smiling to herself. "Is this what you wanted to talk to me about?" she laughed.

Some of her hair appeared in front of Ulfric's face. It smelled good, almost like red and purple mountain flowers, tundra cotton and Skyrim's own fresh air. He caught himself smelling it a bit longer, just to remember that exact smell.

"Galmar told me to do it," he said, his voice sounding almost transfixed. Milla took one step back to look at him again.

"But what will people say?" She tilted her head a little, catching Ulfric's wondering expression. "I mean the ten years between us. It's not exactly normal with a relationship where there is ten years of age difference. I have never heard of it, or seen it before."

She looked at the floor, Ulfric noticed the worried frown that appeared on her face. He grabbed her hand again. "Don't you worry about that. If someone feels the urge to comment it or say anything bad about it, they won't walk Skyrim's ground much longer," he reassured.

Milla had to giggle. The way he explained things, said things or did things were just too funny sometimes.

He kissed her forehead to comfort her one last time before heading back to the main hall. Milla sat down on the edge of the bed, thinking about what just happened. A part of her wanted to burst into tears and leave to be with her father again, another part wanted to smile and never stop, and to approach Ulfric just to tell him how much she loved him.. But she was left completely immobile.

* * *

As Jarl Ulfric sat on the block of stone he called his throne, rubbing his beard, he studied all the people around the table; servants, people who served his father as Thanes before he died, and guards. Milla was not there.

"Is something wrong, Jarl Ulfric?" one of the guards asked when looking up from his plate full of meat and leeks. At that exact second, Milla walked out of the war room, ready to eat. Ulfric shook his head as an answer to the guard, before meeting Milla's eyes.

She sat down right on the edge, where Ulfric could see her, and helped herself with a crust of bread. Galmar stared at Milla's face for a moment, her lips formed a discreet smile between each bite. His gaze later turned to Ulfric, who still watched Milla eat, before taking a step closer to him and asked, "Did you tell her?"

Ulfric leant back on the throne, smiling before answering, "I did."

"And?" Galmar acted more like Ulfric's friend than his second-in-command now, he changed in only a second. "Come on, tell me."

"I kissed her, alright," Ulfric whispered, making sure no one but Galmar heard it.

The sounds of forks and knives hitting plates, guards talking about their rounds, servants cleaning up after the guards, every possible sound filled the main hall. The only thing drowning the other sounds was Galmar's loud chuckle. He walked over to Milla's spot and grabbed her arm, making the crust of bread in her hand fall to the floor. He placed Milla right next to Ulfric's throne, and placed himself in front of it.

Raising his arm slightly, he said, "It seems like our own Jarl has finally found himself someone to spend his life with." He spoke as if he was a priest, preaching in a temple.

To Milla's big surprise, the male guards started cheering and the female guards talked. They talked about her, she just knew it.

"Galmar!" Ulfric whispered again, more fiercely. "This was not a part of the plan!"

The three of them watched as the guards, the toughest warriors, clapped their hands and nodded to each other, commenting the news. Milla tried to hide her completely crimson face behind her hands, but Galmar grabbed her arm again, to introduce her to the crowd. "This is Milla. She will be the one sharing Ulfric's bed."

"Galmar…" he could hear Ulfric commenting behind his back. Galmar only chuckled when letting go of Milla's arm to let her keep Ulfric company at the throne.

She smirked, "I was not expecting this…"

"Trust me, I wasn't either. Galmar is full of surprises." He looked at her lovingly, reaching for her hand to hold. "You will have a different life now, if this is what you want.."

As Ulfric spoke, Milla watched the others still talk about the news, some looking at her, then back at each other. She smiled slowly, and turned to Ulfric. "Since the first day I saw you."

Relieved by what he heard, he placed her hand on his mouth, kissing it gently. "And by the way, I don't care about our ages," he said afterwards.

"I know," Milla chuckled. "Your expressions say a lot."

The clapping had stopped and the guards were back at their rounds, when Milla heard a familiar voice by the door. "Well, well.. What is going on here?"

Eirik had just entered the main hall of the palace, to surprise his daughter. She ran towards him, reaching for him as she yelled, "Father!"

"My beautiful, beautiful girl. I have missed you so much," Eirik responded, hugging Milla tighter than ever.

"You too, father. But what are you doing here?"

Eirik smiled as he took one short step back to have a good look at Milla. "You know the job I took in Riften. It was a delivery job, and they sent me here to deliver something. I took the opportunity to come see you at the same time. I knew you'd be here after all."

Ulfric joined them discreetly to welcome Eirik to the palace.

"Hi, Ulfric. I mean.. Jarl Ulfric," Eirik bowed.

"Please, it's Ulfric to you," Ulfric laughed, looking at Eirik, then back at Milla.

"I wanted to see my daughter. I was making a delivery at the stables just a minute ago," Eirik explained, but noticed fast how close Ulfric had placed himself to Milla. Closer than he would have expected him to stand.

He looked at Ulfric one more time before turning to Milla. "Milla, dear. Can I have a word with you? Outside?"

Milla lifted her eyebrows in suspicion, but smiled at the same time. "Of course, father," she said willingly.

The two walked outside while Ulfric went back to the throne. Once outside the doors, Eirik grabbed Milla's arm hard enough for Milla to show signs of pain. "Are you…?" he started, looking at her with disappointment. Milla noticed some of the guards keeping a close eye on them, she was the Jarl's crush after all. They would not let anything happen to her.

"Father, I am a grown woman. You have to let me live my own life. I know this is not the best timing after mother's death, but you knew it would happen sometime.. Father?" Milla looked at Eirik's hand holding on to her arm. "You're hurting me…"

Eirik suddenly noticed what he was doing, and slowly let go of her.

"Don't you remember, father?" Milla continued. "When you and mother always talked about how beautiful my children, your grandchildren, would be? And how mother always wanted me out of the armor, and into a nice dress so I would meet a noble man of some sort? Well, here you are. Here's the noble man you wanted." Nothing but sorrow filled her voice as she spoke, and pointed at the Palace of the Kings.

"But a Jarl, Milla?" Eirik asked angrily, even though it was not really a question. He knew her answer, but he wanted to hear it from her mouth, and not his own. "How can you be so sure he is the one for you? You have only just met him…"

"He can tell me stories and show me places you can't. He has been all over Skyrim, even to Cyrodiil," Milla said, waving her arms everywhere. "Tell me, father. Do you think I would stand in front of you telling you this if I knew he was not the right man for me?"

Eirik looked at the ground, frowning. "No…"

He lifted his gaze to look proudly at his daughter. This was exactly how he raised her, to be stubborn and speak for herself. "Should I tell Sylgja you're not coming home, then?"

Milla knew he was joking again. That was one of his best abilities, to make a joke out of everything. "Not funny…" she said, shaking her head. "Shouldn't you get back to work?"

She attempted to go back inside, but she could not just leave her father being angry.

"You're right. I am sorry. Inger and I have obviously raised you to be your own woman. I just… Don't want you to grow up and leave me," Eirik cried out, studying his daughter behind the warm tears. Milla embraced him to comfort him the best she could.

"No matter how old I get," she started. "I will always be your little girl. I will come visit you in Shor's Stone whenever I can. I promise."

They hugged each other goodbye, and Milla looked at his footprints as Eirik walked towards the Stone Quarter, a tear running down her cheek.

She turned around and walked back inside, not noticing Ulfric or the others at all as she hurried back to the bedroom.

"I'll.. be right back," Ulfric mumbled and ran after Milla, leaving Galmar and the others behind in the main hall.

"Hey, hey! What's the matter?" Ulfric asked as he embraced Milla when entering the bedroom.

Milla's empty look scared Ulfric a bit. "Nothing.." she whispered, releasing herself from the embrace and walked further into the room. "Are you serious? About what you said earlier? Because I just told my own father I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you."

"I wouldn't lie to you, Milla. I was raised to be honest." Ulfric did not finish the sentence he started. Instead, he cupped Milla's cheeks with both his hands and kissed her. "I meant every word I said. I have never met a woman like you. Come here.." He embraced her again, hugging the love of his life tightly. He would never let go of her.


	7. Chapter 6

_**2 years later - 4E 182 - In the Jarl's Quarters in the Palace of the Kings**_

"Shh!" Milla hushed quickly, placing her index finger in front of her mouth. "Don't wake him up."

Galmar stood next to Milla with a big plate full of sweet rolls in his hand, and a bottle of mead in the other. The two of them and the servants had assembled around the bed in the Jarl's Quarters to surprise Ulfric on his birthday.

"Happy birthday!" They all shouted, and Ulfric's eyes opened widely by the sudden noise. He covered him face with his hand and mumbled something.

"Come on, Ulfric," Milla said. "It's your birthday, and a beautiful day for adventure." She sat down on the edge of the bed and smiled to her husband, grabbing his hand, making their wedding rings touch.

"Come join us for breakfast," Galmar suggested and started walking towards the door, discreetly telling the other to go with him.

Ulfric rolled over to his back, still tired after the late night the night before. He had to go to bed alone, Milla was running around in the kitchens, being awfully secretive. "Ugh, I can't believe I'm thirty years old today." He stood up and got dressed slowly as Milla watched him, his tired expression, his body, his scars.

"Well, four days from now I am no longer nineteen, but twenty. We can feel old together."

Ulfric chuckled, "Yeah."

People laughed and drank mead from goblets in the main hall, bigger banners were put up over the throne to celebrate the Jarl's birthday.

Galmar approached Ulfric and Milla at the throne, holding a goblet in his hand to give to the Jarl. "Are you ready?" he asked.

"Ready for what?"

Galmar looked at Milla, leaving her to explain their plan. She smiled, taking a sip of her cup. "We're traveling. I.. We are going to the Reach. Just to make sure the rest of those Forsworn aren't destroying the place. And besides, you have been busy lately, you could need some time off."

"You have thought about everything, haven't you?" Ulfric laughed, thinking about the trip. "I haven't been near the Reach since I got rid of the Reachmen.. I can't wait." He kissed Milla's temple while holding his arm around her.

Milla's mouth formed a smile. "I want this day to be just as romantic and adventurous as our wedding day. "

Ulfric's smile slowly disappeared as he thought about their destination. "But the Reach is so dangerous. I don't want you to get hurt, or to get into any kind of trouble with the Forsworn. I have seen you in battle. You're not exactly gentle.."

"Come on.. Come with us," Galmar engaged. "Like old times, eh?"

Ulfric understood what Galmar meant right away. He remembered their hunting trips, with Galmar's brother Rolff and Ulfric's father, and he did not hesitate to join them outside.

* * *

Milla and Ulfric sat next to each other on the bench on the carriage, studying the mountains on one side, and the giants and mammoths on the other side. Galmar sat on his horse behind the carriage, and two guards rode in front of it.

"Skyrim seems so… different without all the snow," Ulfric commented, leaning over the edge of the carriage and towards the ground to pick a thistle branch for Milla.

It began to darken as they reached Rorikstead. A man greeted them as the horses stopped by one of the farms. "Ulfric!" he approached them and said. "I haven't seen you since the war!"

Ulfric jumped off the carriage and chuckled. "Rorik! Finally founded the town you always wanted?" He then hugged his old friend.

"But what about you?" Rorik continued. "You're the Jarl now? The word sure is traveling fast."

"I am, yes. Right after my father died.. It's been two years now."

A woman from the farm they had stopped by took care of the horses, tying the reins to the fence. Ulfric looked around the place, then at Rorik. "We need a place to rest for the night before we continue our journey to the Reach. Do you have any rooms available at the inn?"

"Of course, I'll have someone ready a bed for ya," Rorik agreed.

Ulfric laughed for a second. "Make it a double, will you?"

Rorik just stared at Ulfric, trying to catch his drift. "What are you up to, eh?" His eyes narrowed, and he sighed heavily.

"Well, I wouldn't want my wife to sleep on the floor, would I?" Ulfric laughed again, placing his hand at Rorik's shoulder.

"Ulfric Stormcloak!" he yelled out of impression to his friend. "A lot has happened in seven years, I must say.. But where is she?"

"Oh, she is right he-" But when Ulfric turned to the carriage to introduce her to Rorik, she was gone. "Milla!"

Galmar and the three guards were already inside the inn, but Ulfric had to look for her. He walked back and forth on the road, studying the road they came from. "Milla!" he kept yelling.

"Yes?" Milla cheerfully said as she peeked out from the inn's backside.

Ulfric sighed relieved. "You have to stop scaring me like that!" He grabbed her and held her tight as if she had been gone for a long time without telling him where she was going or why.

"So this is the lucky girl who snapped your heart?" Rorik grinned, then showing them inside.

All the guards held a tankard in their hand and the room was filled with laughter. Rorik showed Ulfric around the inn, while Milla made jokes with the guards. Joking was her specialty after living with Eirik for eighteen years.

She soon noticed two boys in the corner, whispering to each other about the Jarl's visit. The sight of the young boys triggered Milla's memory, and she suddenly remembered all the fun she and Sylgja had when she lived in Shor's Stone.

What Milla also noticed was the female Altmer by the fire, who seemed oddly bored. Milla stood up and slowly walked towards her, casually slipping down in one of the chairs. "You seem… bored," she asked quickly, taking a sip of her bottle.

The elf looked at Milla, but did not answer. Her forehead frowned into tiny wrinkles as she supported her head. Milla studied the elf's eyes; they were colored yellow, similar to the elf she encountered in Windhelm the first time she was there.

"I…" the elf started. "I should not be here." She then hurried outside to avoid Milla's gaze.

The sky was completely darkened and Secunda's white light lit the road towards the Reach up. Milla ran after the elf as fast as she could to catch up with her. "Hey, come back!" she yelled from the porch. The elf stopped in the middle of the road, her back facing Milla.

"I cannot be here.." she mumbled. Milla barely heard what she said, but did not interrupt her in case she continued speaking. "Not with him here."

"Who, Ulfric?"

Ulfric's hatred for other races than Nords immediately came to Milla's mind. She remembered the first time she saw his scars, and when he told her how he got them. "I'm sorry.." she then mumbled quietly.

The elf smiled. "It's not your fault. I know what the Thalmor and the Aldmeri Dominion did to him."

Milla's expression changed, and she chuckled a little. "Yeah, I.. I'm Milla, by the way."

"Reldith," the elf smirked.

The door opened slowly and without a sound behind Milla, and there was Ulfric. "Milla, come back inside now!"

"I'm sorry," Milla whispered to the elf, making sure Ulfric did not hear it. She ran towards him, and inside the inn again. Reldith took off, leaving Ulfric to stare intensely at her until she was gone.

Ulfric closed the door eventually, giving Milla a disappointed look as he joined her at one of the tables, similar to the one her father gave her when she told him how much she loved Ulfric Stormcloak.

"Don't give me that look.." she mumbled fiercely, avoiding eye-contact.

"Ulfric!" Rorik called, standing behind the counter next to another familiar face. "You remember Mralki?"

"Of course. I would never forget a face like that," Ulfric laughed.

"Mralki was my first choice as innkeeper at the inn, and he hasn't made me regret it."

Milla walked towards them slowly, almost feeling embarrassed. Ulfric noticed her in the corner of his eye and put his arm around her fast to introduce her. "This is Milla. She's my wife." He nearly covered her face his arm, kissing her temple.

"You managed to snatch this one's heart, did ya? Good job," Mralki chuckled, turning his gaze to the rest of the inn to locate someone. "Here, let me introduce my son. Erik!"

The blonde one of the boys in the corner came running when Mralki called him. "Yes, father?" he mumbled.

"I want you to meet an old friend of mine. We fought together in the War, before I quit working as a Legionnaire. This is Ulfric Stormcloak. He's the Jarl of Windhelm now, and his wife.. Milla, was it? Did you and Lokir ready their room?"

"Yes, we did," Erik said. His voice was somehow childish, but he seemed to be well-raised. He then stared at Milla, slightly pointing at her and Ulfric. "Wait.. You're married to _him_? How old are you, fifteen?"

Milla only laughed her usual sarcastic laughter. "And you're what? Ten? Doesn't matter, I am older than you anyway." She attempted to hit him, but Ulfric held back by her arms.

"Stop it, Milla!" he said in a hurry, before placing his mouth to her ear to whisper, "He's not worth it.."

Milla released herself from his grip, heading to the rented room. "I'm going to bed."

"What was that for, Erik?" she could hear Mralki ask Erik before she shut the doors behind her, but Ulfric entered only a minute after.

"Is it true?" Milla asked before Ulfric managed to say anything. His questioning expression triggered a tear in the corner of her eye. "Do I really look like I'm fifteen?"

Ulfric wiped the tear away from her cheek with his pelted sleeve, and stroked it. "Of course not. Don't ever think that!"

He then guided her into a kiss. A kiss so soft, and more passionate than all the other kisses he had placed on her, and it felt like she was dragged into a crimson portal. Her hearing faded, and in her mind, the kiss lasted forever. Only a moment after, they separated, and Milla slowly went back to normal.

Ulfric studied her thoroughly; her dark blonde hair, her blue eyes and dark red lips, her steel armor and the necklace, _the Amulet of Talos_. He loved his wife's tough looks, she was the warrior he had always wanted as his wife, and not one of those despicable mages, or wizards. He simply hated those Altmers who gave him the scars.

"Ulfric?" he heard from a distance, but the distance was not longer than a foot away from him. "Ulfric…"

He found himself pulling away from Milla as she touched the scar on his arm. "I'm sorry.." he responded quickly, before giving Milla any signals he did not mean to give her.

"You don't have to apologize to me. I know I can't take back the fact that Elenwen.. tortured you." Those words fastened like big lump in Milla's throat, which seemed impossible to swallow. "I know it's not much comfort, but I will always look after you."

She giggled a little, before grabbing her satchel to find her journal. "Here, take this." She handed him the leather-covered book, but refused to let go for a second. "I know how much you have wanted to read it.. Take it. I am now giving you all my childhood stories."

Ulfric held the book in his hand, looking utterly shocked as Milla left the room. He sat down on the bed and slowly opened the journal on the first page, reading the drabblings.

'_My father just gave me this journal. I have always wanted one, and finally he got me this. It was meant to be a birthday present for my seventh birthday, but he had to work. Mother and I celebrated my birthday, though, and we had a great time.'_ He remembered his seventh birthday, Milla was not even born at that time. His father had arranged for him to go to High Hrothgar to study with the Greybeards the year he turned thirteen years old.

Milla sat by one of the empty tables near the counter, sipping mead of a tankard. Erik joined her discreetly. "Look, I'm sorry for the comment.. Lokir and I made a bet; If I said what I said, he would give me his iron dagger.."

"All that because of a dagger?" Milla mumbled, but saw the look on Erik's face. He was truly sorry. "Here, take mine. It's steel. It will probably last longer, and besides, I don't need it."

Erik's eyes lit up like burning torches. "Thank you! I promise to use it well."

"Oh, and give that friend of yours, Lokir, a proper hit in the face for me. You owe me that at least," Milla chuckled.

"You got it!"

Ulfric walked out of the room again, finding Milla with some of the guards. He could see her looking at Erik with his new dagger, and smiled to himself by seeing Milla smile.

"What are you so very cheerful about all of a sudden?" Ulfric asked as he placed himself close to his wife.

"Well, Erik apologized. It turned out to be a bet over an iron dagger, so I gave him my steel dagger instead."

"I don't feel good about reading your journal.." Ulfric commented quickly, and snapped the tankard out of Milla's hand to have a sip of it.

Milla only chuckled, but on the inside, she screamed as if someone slowly pierced her with something sharp. She did not know why she was scared, but the thought of Ulfric reading her stories and learning more about her calmed her down. The only problem left was that all her childhood stories, everything she wrote when she had argued with her parents, every little drabble.. It all was now in Ulfric's hands.

* * *

Later that night, Ulfric sat on the bed again, reading the journal. Milla was already sleeping, and her hair was all over the pillow. He stroked it as he read, flipping the pages back and forth until he found a story that stood out from all the others.

'_Hello, journal._

_I discovered something weird today, on my neck, right under my hair. I don't know what it is, but it looks like a.. dragon. Not that I have any idea what a dragon looks like, only the description father gave me in one of his stories._

_Anyway, I'm celebrating my thirteenth birthday in only two days. I am so excited!'_

Ulfric then out of curiousity removed the locks of hair in front of her neck and noticed a mark with the shape of a dragon right by her hairline. He knew exactly what a dragon looked like.

Milla opened her eyes discreetly without Ulfric noticing, as she knew right away what he had just read.

He put the journal on the end table next to the bed, blowing out the candle before getting comfortable under the pelt. He crawled up as close as he possibly could to Milla, kissing her temple as his heavy eyelids shut, and he fell asleep. This was the best birthday he'd had in many years.


	8. Chapter 7

Galmar and the guards were all ready to leave when Ulfric hugged his friends goodbye after morning had dawned.

"Can I ride the horse today?" Milla suggested playfully to Galmar, who wanted nothing more than to travel to the Reach and be done with it. "You can join Ulfric on the carriage."

Galmar hesitated, but went along with it eventually. There were things he needed to talk to Ulfric about. They switched places, and Milla sat on the horse as if she was a well-trained rider.

"Galmar… What are you doing on the carriage? Where did Milla go?" Ulfric wondered as he climbed onto the carriage, sitting down right across Galmar.

"She insisted on riding the horse, so right now, she is in front of us. On the horse…" Galmar explained, slightly pointing at Milla patting the horse.

Ulfric turned to check just in case, and was met by Milla's sarcastic, smiling face. "I wanted to ride. Is that okay with you?" she asked humble.

"Of course, have fun! Just don't go too far away from us, so we don't lose you."

Just a few minutes went by, and they crossed the border to the Reach. Milla rode in front of the others, enjoying the nature and the view to the mountains. On the carriage on the other hand, Ulfric and Galmar discussed the Jarl's future plans.

"I want to see you become High King, Ulfric. Like we talked about in our teens over a bottle of mead at Candlehearth," Galmar said, almost like he was daydreaming. "The day that man, Torygg, became High King just to please the Emperor was a dark day. And each day after that has been dark, and times are growing darker! The one to do something about it, Ulfric, is you."

"Maybe, Galmar.. But we need to do some serious planning first, and I am afraid of what Milla will say. She is my wife, her opinions matter," Ulfric explained, looking at Milla on the horse.

Galmar chuckled. "We'll do it as soon as we get back to the palace, then."

Suddenly, a stream of arrows flew over their heads. All Ulfric could think about, was not who shot the arrows or to protect himself from them, but Milla. She was suddenly out of his sight.

"Guards!" Ulfric yelled to the two men, who were already off their horses with their bows and swords ready. Galmar had jumped off the carriage with his battleaxe in his hands, ready to fight.

A Forsworn headed their way, aiming and shooting arrows as fast as he could. Ulfric thought he had cleared the Reach of the Forsworn during the Markarth Incident. There had been survivors, but he did not expect to meet them, not now.

"Take him.." Ulfric whispered to Galmar. Answering with a nod, he ran off towards the Forsworn.

"Guards! Find Milla!" he then demanded, sending his guards off to find her.

Down the hill, near a cave and a watchtower, Milla was fighting other Forsworn bandits. The guards rushed to her aid, but she managed to pierce the Forsworn Pillager to his death and get knocked out by the Forsworn Looter's frost spell before they could get to her.

"No!" Ulfric yelled from the top of the hill. All he did, was yelling. He felt absolutely useless.

One of the guards was already fighting the rest of the Forsworn, the other running towards Milla to help her. "Milla! Are you alright?" he yelled to her.

"Yes, yes. I had to get them away from me somehow," she said as she stood up, picking up her sword from the ground.

"Smart move." The two stood side by side, watching carefully to make their next move.

"Thank you."

Milla watched her brave husband run into battle, wielding his sword, before something unexpected happened. "_Fus… Ro Dah!_" The Forsworn bandits were all thrown back for Ulfric, Galmar and the other guard to slash them with their swords and axes without resistance.

Milla and Ulfric's eyes met for a second as the guard that helped her ran to help the others.

The shock had reached Milla. Never had she seen anything like what she just saw Ulfric do. It was almost like her feet were glued to the ground under her.

"Come on!" the guard yelled to her, but he could not wait. He had to help the Jarl.

"You will never take us!" someone screamed from the top of the cave entrance. A Forsworn Briarheart readied his spiked sword and a powerful frost spell.

Milla could not let him say what he said and go unpunished, so she turned to him and roared out how painful his death would be. The Briarheart ran inside the watchtower on top of the cave and bursted into an insulting laughter.

"Milla, don't go after him!" Ulfric yelled to her, but Milla only looked back at him with an expression that told him how much she had to.

Galmar held Ulfric back as Milla took a deep breath and started running towards the tower. He knew how deadly a Forsworn Briarheart was, he was foolish to let Milla run up there alone, but Galmar kept holding him back.

The sound of swords and ice breaking cut through all other sounds, and Ulfric and the guards were almost hypnotized by them. Milla's screams as she slashed at the Briarheart, the Briarheart's yells as he pushed Milla into the walls, they were the only sounds Ulfric could hear.

Suddenly, two shadows appeared on top of the tower. A fall from that tower would lead anyone to their deaths. The sun prevented them from seeing what they needed to see, so Ulfric, Galmar and the guards were forced to look at Milla's and the Briarheart's shadows.

Without warning, the spiked sword fell to the ground, and Milla held the Briarheart by his throat off the edge of the tower. Ulfric had never seen Milla like that, so strong and hateful.

"The Forsworn… will never die!" the Briarheart said through Milla's tight grip, making her grin, eventually laugh.

"One day.." she promised, and loosened her grip around his throat, letting him fall. He screamed as he fell right down towards the muddy ground right in front of Ulfric and the others.

A part of Ulfric wanted to cheer for the Forsworn's deaths, but his wife was still up there, and before he could put one foot in front of the other to run and help her, Milla limped and stumbled towards the other side of the tower, towards the edge. At that exact second, she started falling. The tower was placed at the far edge of the mountain, making the fall an even more painful death.

Ulfric's world was falling apart as he watched his wife fall to her own death. As if falling down to the ground was not deadly enough, she fell farther down, to Karth River. Everything went slow, and Ulfric swore he saw Milla's face as she fell, her eyes turning crimson before she disappeared.

Dropping to his knees, Ulfric had lost what he lived for. He covered his face with his hands as he bursted into tears. The warm tears running down his cheeks and hands, eventually to the ground.

Galmar had placed his battleaxe on his back again, slowly approaching the cliff next to the tower to carefully look down. Milla was nowhere to be seen, she was probably floating in the water by now. The thought of it disgusted Galmar; Milla had made Ulfric happier than he had ever seen him his entire life. And Ulfric and Galmar had been friends since they were eight years of age.

One of the guards had already helped Ulfric up and led him to the carriage when Galmar joined them. He just wanted to go home to his bed and a bottle of mead. Away from the Reach. The Reach was filled with nothing more than painful memories now. At least for Ulfric, Galmar had no idea how Ulfric felt, losing the love of his life.

"Did you see her?" Ulfric mumbled as he sat down on the carriage, trying to wipe the tears away, but for no good. They came back.

"No…" Galmar responded quickly. "Let's just get you back to Windhelm."

"What?" Ulfric exclaimed, feeling the tears go away and anger filling his head instead. "We have to look for her! I can't go without her!" He held his hand up to show his wedding ring to prove a point to Galmar.

Galmar could not hold back, and hit Ulfric in the face to make him shut up so he could take him back to Windhelm. There were no other options than to make Ulfric unconscious. If he was not, he had probably stayed in the Reach to look for Milla.

* * *

After four long and fatiguing days and nights on the road from the Reach to Eastmarch, they were finally back at the Palace of the Kings. Ulfric on his throne, Galmar in his room with the bottle of mead he had wanted ever since they left.

Ulfric was impossible to get to. People could talk to him, but he would just stare right into the air like no one was there. He had nothing to say. The only words that were spoken from his mouth, were his prayers to Talos that Milla would come home eventually.


	9. Chapter 8

Under the whitest and dustiest Tundra Cotton, next to the roundest and grayest of rocks, something shined in the sunlight.

"Mother, look!" someone said from the road from Markarth to Karthwasten.

The woman looked at where her son was pointing. "Where? I can't see…" Narrowing her eyes, she tried to find the spot.

"Right there, by that rock!" the young man, Ragnar, kept telling his mother. His father and their rented mercenary walked down to cross the river to find whatever Ragnar had spotted.

To their big surprise, they found a Nord woman under the white flowers. Her armor had stains of blood everywhere and she had several wounds on her arms.

"By the Divines…" the mercenary commented as they shoved the flowers away and turned her around to see her face. "Look at the state of this one." He slowly and gently picked her up and held her unconscious body in his arm.

"We better take her back with us," Ragnar's father then said, looking up at the others. "She might be alive.."

They followed the path to the bridge and headed back to their home in Karthwasten. Ragnar kept his place next to the mercenary as they walked up the hill from the road to the small town. "Who is it?" he asked his father, keeping an eye at the young woman.

"I don't know, son. Get back to work now, we'll take care of her," he answered, opening the door to the house for the mercenary to go inside. He put her on the table Ragnar's mother, Ylva, used for potions and healing.

They studied her for a while, the lifeless body on the table. "Do you think she's alive, Oddleif?" Ylva then commented quietly.

"Am I in Sovngarde now?" the woman mumbled, slightly starting to move her arms and legs. Opening her eyes and looking around, one could see the devastation in her eyes. "Obviously not…"

"No," Ylva chuckled. "Karthwasten is far away from Sovngarde."

"I know, I just.. thought I would be dead by now.."

Ylva, Oddleif and the mercenary watched her as she stood up from the table, stretching her legs out. "Who are you?" Oddleif asked.

"My name is Milla. Who I am, however, is no one's business but mine," Milla said, supporting her weight on the table. She tried to walk, but her injured leg made her fall to he floor.

"Woah, there. Maybe you should take it a bit easier," Oddleif said in a hurry, and helped Milla up to guide her to the table for her to lie down on it again. He stopped next to Ylva on his way to the door.

"Are you sure about this?" he whispered to her while keeping an eye on Milla.

Ylva smiled to Oddleif. "Let me talk to her while I try to heal her wounds." She showed Oddleif and the mercenary out while she readied herself for the treatment of the injured woman on the wooden table.

"So… Milla," she started, sitting down on the chair next to it. "What happened to you?"

"Isn't that obvious?" Milla exclaimed at first, but the pain struck her in every inhale and exhale. "I am sorry… I was just being unlucky."

"Come on, I am not stupid. Now tell me what really happened to you."

Milla took a long breath to rid herself of the pain she had just brought upon herself when trying to answer. "I fell down from the tower on the mountain on the other side of the river…" she confessed, feeling the tears running down her cheeks. "I traveled here with my husband for his birthday.."

"Oh, I am so sorry…" Ylva whispered, easily seeing the pain in Milla's eyes. "May I ask who he is? Maybe we can contact him for you."

"No! Don't.." Milla attempted to sit up, but the pain stopped her once again. "Let's just say he's a very important man.."

Ylva smiled helpfully. "Oh, well. Let's take care of these wounds," she continued as a golden light appeared on her hands.

"You're a… mage?" Milla studied Ylva's hands and asked.

"No, more of a healer. I also brew my own potions, so you can call me a healer and an alchemist," Ylva answered, still smiling. She placed her hand over Milla's wounded arm. "I need to remove your armor to be able to work properly. If that is alright with you of course."

"Why not.." Milla mumbled, almost unhearable.

Ylva started by removing the steel cuffed boots on Milla's feet, and when moving to her bracers, she noticed the wedding ring. It was almost like her chin dropped to the floor as she held Milla's hand closer to have a proper look. "Wow, your husband really must be important. This ring is made out of the most solid and the most expensive gold that exists. Are you sure you won't tell me who he is?"

"All in good time.." Milla said quietly, and after Ylva had removed her steel armor, she laid on the table wearing nothing but her underwear, with the wedding ring and the Amulet of Talos as her only apparel, all her wounds being exposed.

"Oh, my… I'm surprised you aren't dead.. I have never seen wounds like these on a living person before," Ylva said louder, studying Milla's body more thoroughly.


	10. Chapter 9

_**7 years later - 4E 189 - In the Palace of the Kings**_

Seven years had gone by, and Ulfric Stormcloak was still in mourning over the loss of Milla. Nothing could take his mind to something else; women, war, fighting, hunting. Nothing.

Galmar was sick and tired of the way Ulfric behaved. He could understand that he loved Milla, but she was gone. He had high doubts that she would come back. "When are you going to forget about this, and start planning what we talked about?" he asked Ulfric when another morning had dawned and Ulfric was back on his throne without a word.

"I can never forget about her, Galmar. No matter how many women you take me out to meet, or how many bottles of mead you make me pour in, I just… can't." Ulfric's eyes teared up when he mentioned Milla, he could still picture her perfectly, with the armor and the Glass bow he gave her for her nineteenth birthday in her hand.

"Don't you think she would have wanted this for you?" Galmar continued. "She would have wanted you to live your dream, and become High King. Alive or dead, I don't know what she is, but she would have wanted that for you, more than anyone."

Ulfric knew Galmar was right. Milla was the one who cheered him up on a bad day, who sat by him if he was feeling ill after too many drinks the night before, and who told him he would succeed if he just tried.

* * *

For the next days, the Jarl and his second-in-command planned the traveling route to Solitude. Where to go, where not to go, and what to expect on the way.

"I think we should travel through Whiterun, and pass through Rorikstead…" Ulfric started, rubbing his beard while pointing at Whiterun on the map with his other hand.

"Are you sure? I mean, after everything that happened there.. It might get emotional for you.." Galmar reacted to Ulfric's decision.

"Yes.. Well, we will then pass through Old Hroldan, I don't want to meet the Forsworn bandits around Robber's Gorge. We'll then follow the road from Markarth to Karthwasten, and cross the three bridges between there and Dragon Bridge. And I want to stop by the Stormcloak camp I placed out in the Reach last year." Ulfric circled around the table and stood by the window, while scratching his head as he did some heavy thinking.

Galmar sat down on the chair, thinking everything through. He sighed heavily and responded, "We'll need to be careful when we pass through Dragon Bridge, though."

Ulfric nodded, "Yes, yes. I don't want any Imperials to spoil my plans before we get to Solitude." He sat down on the chair across Galmar, by the window. He took a moment to think, picturing himself with the crown on his head, but every time he pictured himself, he saw Milla next to him.

"What should we do when we get to the city?" Galmar then interrupted him.

Ulfric did not answer at first, but thought about his time in the war and when the Emperor chose Torygg to be High King, just for his own happiness. "Torygg is a reasonable man… He is a Nord, he would accept my challenge." He took a moment to breathe. "Skyrim doesn't need the Empire, I will show him that. I'll challenge him to a duel. A formal one-on-one duel, and he will see.. The court, of course, is welcome to watch me show the so-called King why Skyrim is better without the Empire."

"Then it's settled, Jarl," Galmar agreed, and laughed as if they had already won. "I will write him a letter and send a Stormcloak courier to deliver it. Or is that too formal?"

"No. Do it," Ulfric answered. "Give him some time to accept my challenge. But Galmar, please. Do it later. Let's have some mead!"

* * *

_**5 more years later - 4E 194 - In Karthwasten and Windhelm**_

Milla had climbed up on the small cliff over the entrance to the mine in Karthwasten, watching the tower from where she had fallen down twelve years earlier. Ulfric's cries were still inside her head, and they still triggered her tears.

As she studied the river, she noticed a blue, ghost-like horse on the road. The man on its back's head was missing…

'_The Headless Horseman_' did Ylva call him in the stories she used to tell Ragnar and Milla. That was before she died…

The one person Ragnar could talk to after Ylva's death, was Milla. She knew exactly how he felt, the pain of knowing that he would never see his mother again. Many nights after work, Milla sat down next to a weeping Ragnar to comfort him and tell him everything would get better. He did not believe it for a single second.

"Dinner's ready!" Oddleif shouted from the house, wearing his silly chef's hat and apron, and holding a wooden spoon in his hand. Milla jumped straight down from her spot on the cliff, landing right in front of Ragnar, who had just left the mine.

He gasped, "Oh… My… God, Milla! I know you're flexible and all that, but you don't have to brag about it."

Milla strolled towards the house and chuckled, "Yeah, yeah.."

Oddleif had prepared one of his best meals; rabbit legs and venison chops with bread on the side with slices of Eidar Cheese and leeks on top. The three of them sat down by the table, eager to start eating. "Dig in!" Oddleif said while opening the bottles of mead.

Later that evening, Milla went outside again. She liked spending time outside, near the bonfire. Her eyes followed Secunda's light on the darkened sky as she sat down on the bear pelt, grabbing her journal from her satchel. She had bought herself a brand new one on a trip to the bigger cities, as she had given her old one to Ulfric. Oh, how she missed him.

"Soon," she said to herself and sighed. "Soon."

* * *

Everyday for the past twelve years, Ulfric read Milla's childhood journal over and over again. He did so this evening as well. He sat by his desk with a bottle of mead and some candles lit. All of a sudden, a hidden page fell out from a small pocket on the last page. He unfolded the page and read the drabbles.

'_Hello, journal._

_This is suddenly my last page. How unfortunate.._

_Anyway, I left Shor's Stone two days ago. My father told me to stay with Ulfric Stormcloak, Windhelm's very own Jarl. Isn't that what every girl wants to hear from her father; to stay with the man she loves? I try to imagine the combination, Milla Stormcloak. Butterflies appear every time I think about it._

_I still haven't figured out the mark on my neck, though… I hope it will give me some answers soon._

_Love to you, Ulfric. Always._

_Milla.'_

He now realized what she wrote that evening fourteen years ago when he bursted into the room. The evening he kissed her properly for the first time. He remembered it as if it was just last week. Her soft skin as he touched her cheeks, her beautiful eyes which he stared into for a while. _Everything._

Back in Karthwasten, Milla read some of her stories in the journal in front of her.

"Milla! Help!" Ragnar yelled then from the door, drops of sweat running down his forehead. As Milla threw her journal on the ground and ran towards the house, she could hear Ragnar's cries. She hurried into the living room, and noticed the Oddleif dead in Ragnar's arms.

Milla did not find this as difficult as Ragnar. For all she knew, her father was still alive. She separated Oddleif and Ragnar, guiding Ragnar to a chair. "Come on, now. We'll bury him tomorrow, okay?" she whispered.

* * *

When tomorrow had dawned, Milla and Ragnar, Ainethach, Mena and Lash gra-Dushnikh all stood by Oddleif's grave, down by the river. Mena's husband, Enmon, did not attend to the funeral. Instead, he was at their house with their two-year-old daughter Sybil.

The warm tears ran down Ragnar's cheeks, and onto his hands. Oddleif was like a father to Milla as well since they found her twelve years ago, and she just could not hold her own tears back.

Ragnar spent more time than the other at his father's grave after the funeral. Even after five hours, he sat there. Milla had her Glass bow on her back and her quiver filled with iron arrows in her hand, while she stood at the top of the hill and watched Ragnar.

"Ragnar!" she then called him. "Care to join me? I thought I'd mess with the mudcrabs by the river down the road."

She reached her spare bow out for Ragnar, who hesitated at first, but loosened up and stood up to fasten the bow on his back. Milla smiled at him. "You should try not to think about it. I know it's difficult, but trust me. It's better that way.."

"You're right."

"Come on, now. Let's kill some mudcrabs. Ylva taught me how to make a potion of Cure Disease, and all I need now is a mudcrab chitin and some hawk feathers."

* * *

With her satchel full of chitins, Milla and Ragnar were on their way back to the house. Milla had to laugh. "Well, at least we won't run out… All I need more of now are those hawk feathers, and we will have potions for the rest of our lives!"

"Yeah. I better get back to work now, still have a lot to do, you know. And you know how Ainethach is, he wants his silver. I am almost close enough to become his right-hand man," Ragnar explained and gave Milla back her bow, before heading towards the mine, grabbing the pickaxe on the way.

"I can help you if you want," Milla said, but she did not expect an answer to it. She was glad to help anyway. Placing the bows and quivers on the front porch, she grabbed a pickaxe and joined him inside the mine.

It did not take many swings before the wagon was full ores and ingots, and Milla and Ragnar could sit down for dinner. Everything was awfully quiet that evening, and Milla noticed Ragnar's behavior. Making a quick decision, she put the crust of bread down on the table. "Okay, that's it. I, as much as you, am tired of being alone, and the silence. Let's have dinner with Mena and Enmon. I'm sure they will understand."


	11. Chapter 10

_**7 more years later - 4E 201 - In the Palace of the Kings and Karthwasten**_

Morning had dawned over Skyrim, and in the Palace of the Kings, it was as busy as a new shipment in the East Empire Trading Company. "Galmar!" Ulfric Stormcloak said as he readied himself for their trip. "Get ready, we're heading to Solitude."

"My pleasure! Ha ha ha!"

A large train of guards and a purposeful Ulfric followed the road from the cold in Windhelm to the heat in Whiterun. Ulfric had decided to walk instead of being stuck on a carriage, and Galmar and himself talked about the whole event as if they were two ten-year-old girls. Ulfric chuckled, "Oh, Galmar. I will finally show those fools why Skyrim is better without them."

Just a few years ago, Galmar had recruited more soldiers, one of them standing out a bit more than the others. Ralof was his name. He had blonde hair, and his humor and jokes reminded Ulfric of Milla. _Milla._

Nothing stopped the guards from cutting through any defense on the way. Imperial guards, legionnaires, scouts, no one remained alive. Only passing through Rorikstead and heading towards Markarth triggered Ulfric's emotions. This place had killed his only love.

Many of the Nords, and Stormcloak sympathizers, residing anywhere near Markarth cheered and shouted out how much they liked him when Ulfric and his guards passed them on their way up north to Haafingar and Solitude.

Milla helped Ragnar outside the mine when they heard the rabble from the road. Ragnar was the first to throw his shovel to the ground and approach the hill to watch. "Well.." he commented. "Looks like Ulfric Stormcloak is heading to Solitude."

The words made Milla gasp. They were the words she had wanted to hear ever since Ulfric told her about his plans. She placed herself just behind Ragnar to watch for herself, and she noticed Ulfric right away. He wore the same furred cloak, and his hair was still as blonde as hers.

Unaware of it, she touched her wedding ring. Not a day had gone by without her thinking about him, and all those times she said she was going to Whiterun and Ivarstead to shop for supplies, she had always stopped outside Windhelm's walls, out of the guards' sight, just to remember the cold, and to maybe give Ulfric a sense of her presence.

"Are you joining us for dinner, Milla?" Ragnar interrupted her on his way back to Mena and Enmon's house.

"Yeah, just a minute," she answered without taking her eyes away from her husband on the road. To her, they were still married. Following him to the edge of the mountain, she turned around and wiped away her tears before heading back.

'It's time..' she thought.

* * *

"I think it's time for me to take my leave.." Milla suddenly commented during the quiet dinner. She and Ragnar once again ate dinner with Mena, Enmon and Sybil to avoid the silence without Oddleif and Ylva. "I have lived here with you guys for nineteen years now."

Ragnar was the first one to react by putting his bread crust down and staring at her as if he thought she was joking. Mena looked at her, not quite believing her either. "What are you talking about?" she then responded.

"You heard me, Mena. It's time for me to go," Milla said again, pushing her plate aside.

"When?" Ragnar wondered. He was the least happy about Milla's sudden decision.

Milla's mouth formed a crooked smile. "Sometime before noon tomorrow. Not a day later," was her final comment before she excused herself from the table.

She hurried back to Ragnar's house and into her room, where she quickly opened the wardrobe. She had put her armor in that wardrobe nineteen years ago when she was dressed in miner's clothes after her leg and wounds were fully recovered.

She brought it out and put it on the bed to study it. She had only touched it once, when she wiped it clean of all the bloodstains. It took her an entire day to clean it, only because she wanted to be gentle and thorough.

She was able to put it back on without triggering any tears now, and she started by undressing and leaving the miner's clothes in the dresser. As she stood there in nothing but her underwear, her Amulet of Talos and her wedding ring, she remembered the first evening at the Palace of the Kings, when she willingly undressed in front of Ulfric.

She quickly pushed the thoughts away and sat down to put her steel cuffed boots on. They still fitted perfectly. The steel Nordic bracers were next; she used to put them on before she went to sleep some years back, just to _remember._

The feeling of relief struck her when she fastened and tightened the last straps of the steel armor. It still fitted as if Adrianne Avenicci adjusted those straps yesterday.

She grabbed her belongings; her books, documents, and some homemade potions, and she put them in her satchel, ready to leave.

Everyone was gathered outside after the shocking news. Ragnar took one step ahead of the others. "Will I ever see you again?" was his only comment.

Milla approached him to hug him, even though he pulled back. He knew she was stronger than him, and that resistance was useless. "Take care, alright?" she whispered into his ear.

When they separated, she could see the tears in his eyes push through. "Will I?" he asked again.

She smiled, "Someday.."

Smiling at the others with a discreet wave, she walked down to the road and headed east.

* * *

Ulfric and his men had reached Katla's farm when the Jarl suddenly stopped and studied the environments. "We're finally here.." he mumbled. He pointed out two guards and Ralof to accompany him inside the city walls.

Galmar reacted fast when he was not pointed out. "But Jarl! What about me?"

"This is not about you, Galmar," Ulfric chuckled sarcastically. "But if it is highly important to you to join us, then do so."

"I will.."

"But remember, Galmar. This is still not about you. This is about my dreams, Skyrim's freedom, but most importantly, Milla," Ulfric explained again.

Ulfric, Ralof, Galmar and the two guards entered fiercely through the gates, pushing aside any Solitude guard or resident who stood in the way to approach Torygg in the courtyard outside Castle Dour and the Thalmor Headquarters as fast as possible.

High King Torygg waited bravely in the courtyard, keeping constant eye contact with General Tullius, Elenwen and his own wife, Elisif. Only guards were allowed to enter and the leave the courtyard, for the people in Solitude's own safety. Torygg knew how dangerous Ulfric Stormcloak was in battle.

Elenwen's eyes followed Ulfric intensely when he entered the courtyard. Galmar, Ralof and the guards stayed back by the nearest exit to leave as fast as they could when the whole challenge was over.

"I see General Tullius is keeping his distance. You haven't brought him down here to watch your back?" Ulfric said with the sarcastic tone in his voice, as he placed himself across Torygg.

Torygg only smiled, keeping calm. "I don't need him to watch me. I don't owe you any fear."

"And I don't expect you to fear me, Torygg," Ulfric said with a slippery grin, readying his sword. "Just do your best."

But before Torygg was able to ready his own sword, Ulfric approached him faster. "You never deserved to be king!" he said before the remarkable happened again, _'Fus… Ro Dah!'_

Torygg flew across the courtyard and into the stony walls covering the Thalmor Headquarters, with Ulfric running after him. He appeared as a shadow before the High King, and Ulfric gave Torygg an intense stare before holding a bit harder onto his sword, and pointing it at Torygg.

"Make sure to treat my wife with all the respect you have left when you meet her in Sovngarde," was Ulfric's last comment before piercing his sword through Torygg's heart.

Withdrawing his sword, Ulfric hurried to place it in the scabbard, and ran towards Galmar, Ralof and the guards.

General Tullius had gone back inside Castle Dour, being too angry to keep himself from fighting Ulfric himself if he stayed out there.

Ralof carefully guided Ulfric to the doors, opening them with the help from Solitude's Stormcloak sympathizer, Roggvir. Ulfric nodded at him before running down the hill, dodging the rest of the Solitude guards on his way to his own guards.

Galmar reached him, shouting to the other guards, "On this day, the seventh of Last Seed, High King Torygg is finally dead!" He stopped running and casually walked towards them as if nothing had happened, greeting Ulfric when he catched up to him

He placed a hand on Ulfric's shoulder, forcing him into a hug. "This is a fine day for the rebellion, Jarl," he commented.

"But we can't stay, Jarl," Ralof hurried to say as nine or ten angry Solitude guards and Imperial soldiers approached them. "Let's go!"

They ran down the road past Katla's Farm, and East Empire Trading Company to arrive as fast as possible in safe terrain in the Pale and Dawnstar.


	12. Chapter 11

General Tullius behaved as if the entire White Gold Tower in the Imperial City was falling apart, and he ordered people to do everything he did not do himself. Three days had gone by since Ulfric Stormcloak challenged and murdered High King Torygg, and he was probably back at the Palace of the Kings already.

Attempting to sit down on a bench, Tullius almost teared the roll of paper he had grabbed in two pieces. He tried to locate Legate Rikke, who rested over the table and the map full of red and blue flags. "Rikke!" he yelled. "Gather our men! I am not letting that arrogant son of a bitch get away with this."

"General Tullius, please. We need to make a plan. If he finds out we're on our way there, he will flee. And the Stormcloak scouts are everywhere!" Rikke explained, seeming utterly unsure about the whole situation.

Tullius grunted, then mumbled, "Yeah, you're right.. Why don't you lead him to somewhere we can get to him?"

"Why me?"

"Because, Rikke, you have history with that man. Didn't you two, what should I say, have a relationship when you fought together in the Great War?" Tullius said harshly.

"I don't know, General. That's in my past, and I know it is in his. All those times our eyes met after the War, the spark just wasn't there. I don't think it will work, sir."

General Tullius stood up and placed himself next to Rikke. "He knows you, more than any other Nord in the Legion. If he knows you won't fight him, he'll trust you. I just know it. Come on, Rikke. I want his head in Oblivion! Think about Elisif!" Tullius' voice raised, drowning the other sounds of guards walking out the doors and Legionnaires exchanging papers and documents.

"Alright, Tullius. Give me an hour, and I will write him a letter."

* * *

Night fell over Skyrim, and Ulfric and his men were all back in Windhelm. Not at all caring about any of the people in the palace, Ulfric hurried to his quarters.

He did not have to care about the others. He had fulfilled his dream; making sure Skyrim was free from Torygg's future plans with the Thalmor, and getting rid of the Emperor's puppet. The only thing left now was to become High King.

Tired as he was, he fell into his big, soft bed, eyelids feeling heavier and heavier.

And he did the same for the next couple of days; living his life as Jarl like normal. Boring couriers with letters and silly jesters with bad jokes. He missed having Milla by his side, and she was constantly in his mind, even now.

"Jarl!" Galmar exclaimed, holding a letter in his hand, signed the Imperial Legion.

Ulfric knew the Legion would not send him a letter, no matter what. This was Rikke's work, he recognized her handwriting. "Let me have it.." he whispered, reaching for it.

'_Ulfric._

_I knew how much of a warrior you are, but I never in a lifetime thought you would actually kill High King Torygg. You really surprised me…_

_I need to see you. I am on my way east, and will probably be close to Darkwater Crossing by the time of fifteenth of Last Seed._

_Considering our past, I hope you still trust me._

_Rikke.'_

Ulfric only stared at the piece of paper he held in his hands. Galmar had walked into the war room, and Ulfric quickly joined him.

He stood up from his chair as soon as Ulfric entered and asked, "What did the letter say?"

Ulfric placed his hands on the table, intensely studying Darkwater Crossing on the map. "Rikke told me she needed to see me outside Darkwater Crossing.. What do you think?"

Galmar laughed at Ulfric's answer. "What do I think? I think you should stay away. It is the perfect setup for an ambush, and you know it! Rikke only listens to her precious General."

"Galmar, come on," Ulfric started, moving himself to the window. "I have only one thing left to live for, and if you are right about this being an ambush, then so be it. I will do it."

"I think you're making a mistake, Ulfric."

"That's your opinion. But you are coming with me, and so are Ralof. I will not do this alone. We will go on the fourteenth," Ulfric turned to Galmar, meeting his eyes.

"Fourteenth?"

"Don't you remember, Galmar? On the fourteenth of Last Seed in 4E 180, exactly twenty-one years ago, I met Milla for the first time. I feel like I owe it to her to wait." The light in Ulfric's eyes was somehow back. It looked as if he had a reason to live again, but Galmar knew that was wrong. Ulfric's only reason to live was not there.

* * *

Milla was almost out of breath after running away from an angry bear when she bumped into a man hiding behind the birches. "Sorry, I.. Wait." She stopped, grabbing the man's shoulder to turn him around to have a proper look at him. "Don't I know you?"

"I don't know. Do you?" the man answered while keeping an eye on the road.

"I think I do. Are you still as childish like you were nineteen years ago? Lokir?" Milla continued, both joking and being serious at the same time.

Lokir had a long minute to study Milla, the imaginary torch over his head being lit as he finally recognized her. "Oh.. You're that Jarl's wife.. Stormcloak, right? Why are you out here and not in that big, stony palace, eating fine food and drinking fine wine?"

"Okay, first of all, Ulfric doesn't know I'm here. Second, he does not find out," Milla interrupted, pointing her finger at Lokir like he was a five-year-old child.

Lokir sneered, turning away from Milla's gaze. "Alright, alright.. Can you at least tell me what date it is today? I have no idea.."

"Fourteenth of Last Seed, why?"

"Nothing.." Lokir mumbled, before suddenly laying down on the ground in a hurry, dragging Milla down with him.

"What are y-"

"SHH!" Lokir hushed, pointing at the Imperial guards in front of a carriage with prisoners, on their way to Helgen. When they were nowhere to be seen, he continued, "I stole one of their horses, you see.."

Milla looked at him intensely. "So you're a thief?" She did not really care about his answer, but asked anyway. "Where are they coming from?"

"I noticed a big military tent outside Darkwater Crossing. I bet they set a camp to ambush any approaching enemy," Lokir explained as he stood up and brushed the dirt away from his clothes, but before he could look at Milla, she had already assassinated a soldier passing by. She dragged the body back to her and Lokir's spot to search him.

"Why did you do that?" Lokir exclaimed, pulling his hair in fear of getting caught.

Milla only laughed, "Because I'm fast enough to do it." She quickly switched out her own sword with the soldier's sword. "And since I'm wearing an ordinary steel armor, they won't suspect me to be against the Legion. I can just walk right into a group of soldiers and kill them!"

"Are you… sure about that?" Lokir asked worried.

"Yes. And you are coming with me."

* * *

"Are you sure about this, Ulfric?" Galmar said quietly.

Ulfric, Galmar, Ralof and several other men and women who had joined the Stormcloak rebellion many years ago, soon approached the spot Ulfric had arranged to meet Rikke.

"Of course I am not, Galmar," Ulfric mumbled, noticing Rikke behind some trees just outside the small village.

As he came closer to her, she smiled discreetly. "I wasn't sure you would come, Ulfric."

"I wasn't sure I wanted to either, but… Here I am. So, what did you want to talk to me about?" Ulfric continued, slightly returning the smile Rikke gave him.

"I don't like this…" Galmar mumbled from behind Ulfric's back, but the Jarl only ignored it.

Still looking at Rikke, he could see her say _I'm sorry_, only without the sound, and out of the woods marched an entire army of Legionnaires.

Galmar and Ralof readied their weapons and began threatening the approaching Imperial soldiers. Ulfric only looked at Rikke as two of the bigger captains grabbed his arms to tie him up.

"Galmar! Run!" he managed to yell before they gagged him to prevent him from using his Shout. And Galmar did just that. Dragging two other Stormcloak soldiers with him, he ran back to Windhelm.

The rest of the Stormcloak soldiers had their hands bound, and were placed on a carriage. Once full, it headed towards Helgen.

* * *

On the other side of the wall of trees, Milla walked right into a group of Imperial soldiers and stabbed two of them in the back. The others reacted too slowly, and Milla disarmed them, eventually wielding two swords.

Lokir kept running in her way, and was knocked out by and Imperial Captain, who took him to a large tent where she dressed him in rags and placed him on an empty carriage.

Waking up again, he watched Milla kill even more soldiers like it was an everyday activity, until the same captain who knocked him out, hit the back of Milla's head and watched her fall to the ground.

Legate Rikke was in the Imperial tent when the Captain, a tall and muscular woman, walked in with Milla in her arms. "Come on, Nora, another one?" she sighed.

"Legate, this one killed twenty-one of our soldiers.." Imperial Captain Nora explained and put Milla on the table to remove her armor and dress her in rags.

"General Tullius is already on his way to Helgen. We'll set the execution once we get there. Shouldn't be more than a couple of days. If we travel fast, we will be there early on the seventeenth of Last Seed," Legate Rikke said as she looked at the woman on the table in front of them.

Already placed in rags, Nora grabbed Milla's hand and looked at the piece of gold. "Look at that ring!" she said, showing it to Rikke.

"The most solid gold there is to find.." Rikke commented, placing her helmet on her head and then left the tent.

Captain Nora discreetly snatched the ring of Milla's finger and put it in her satchel, silently laughing as she carried Milla to the carriage. Lokir did not notice her being placed on the floor, as he rubbed his face to avoid the pain.

Only a minute later, Legate Rikke and Legate Quentin Cipius forced Ulfric Stormcloak onto the very same carriage.


	13. Chapter 12

All the small rocks on the road made the trip to Helgen a bumpy one, but that did not seem to bother the prisoners, except for Milla who laid on the carriage floor.

"Hmf, this one won't wake up.." the Nord man next to Lokir commented.

Milla laid face-down on the carriage, unable to see anyone's faces. She had woken up now, but that did not mean she would sit up and act as if she was alright.

She could hear Lokir sneer, "Damn you, Stormcloaks. Skyrim was fine until you came along. The Empire was nice and lazy. I would have been halfway to Hammerfell by now, if it wasn't for you and your war with the Empire!" Milla could feel Lokir's eyes watching her, the chills running down her spine.

"We're all brothers and sisters in binds now. Every single one of the soldiers you see on these carriages," the Nord, Ralof, explained.

"Shut up back there!" the Imperial soldier leading the carriage yelled suddenly.

"What's wrong with him, huh?" Lokir wondered and looked at the gagged man across him.

Ralof's eyes widened by the comment. "Watch your tongue! You're speaking to Ulfric Stormcloak, the true High King!"

The imaginary torch over Lokir's head was lit again when he remembered Ulfric. "I.. I didn't recognize you, I… Of course! You're the Jarl of Windhelm. The leader of the rebellion. But, if they captured you.. Oh, gods, this is worse than I thought! Where are we going?"

Milla wanted to hit Lokir in the head for his comment, but she could not reveal her face to Ulfric. Not yet. And with her hands bound, she was helpless.

"I don't know exactly where we're going, but Sovngarde awaits," Ralof commented quietly, being awfully calm.

"No! This can't be happening.. This isn't happening!" Lokir begged, sounding more and more worried about the execution he was attending to. He then accidently kicked Milla's foot, which to her felt like it was intended.

"Hey," Ralof started. "What village are you from, horse-thief?"

"Why do you care?"

He smiled, "A Nord's last thoughts should always be of home."

Lokir hesitated, but managed to mutter a sound eventually. "Rorikstead. I'm.. I'm from Rorikstead." He noticed that Ulfric was looking at him.

"General Tullius, sir! The headsman is waiting," the soldier on the town wall said, bringing the message forward.

"Good! Let's get this over with," the general himself answered, patting his horse to calm it.

"Shor, Mara, Dibella, Kynareth, Akatosh. Divines, please help me!" Lokir begged again as they traveled though the gates.

They then spotted General Tullius on his horse inside the walls. Ralof sneered, "Look at him! General Tullius, the military governor. And it looks like the Thalmor are with him. Damn elves!" One could see on Ralof's face that Elenwen's presence disgusted him.

He took a deep breath to collect his thoughts, and closed his eyes, rolling them behind the lid. "This is Helgen.." he then continued. "I used to be sweet on girl from here. I wonder if Vilod is still making that mead with Juniper berries mixed in.. It's funny, actually, how Imperial walls and towers used to make me feel so safe when I was just a boy." The way Ralof was talking, it almost seemed like he was talking to himself.

A boy from the village stood up as soon as the carriages passed him. "Who are they, daddy? Where are they going?"

The man behind him stood up and held the door open. "Let's go inside, Haming," he told the boy quietly.

"Why? I wanna watch the soldiers," Haming then said, refusing to follow his father's orders.

"Inside, now!"

"Hmpf.. Yes, father." He could not do other than to walk back inside, but that did not stop him from watching from the window.

"Get these prisoners out!" Captain Nora yelled.

"W-why are we stopping?" Lokir asked nervously as the horses stopped and the soldiers placed themselves next to the carriages.

"Why do you think? The end of the line. Let's go. Shouldn't keep the Gods waiting," Ralof commented on what Lokir said. That was sort of Milla's signal to finally stand up and jump down on the ground.

Waiting until she was the only one left on the carriage, she stepped off, facing Ulfric's back and hoping for the better that he would not turn around and notice her.

"Step towards the block when we call your names. One at a time!" Captain Nora yelled, placing herself next to another Imperial officer, Hadvar, who held tight onto the list of names.

Milla stood next to Ralof, being able to see his face. Something about him reminded her about herself. Maybe it was the light hair or the blue eyes, she did not know.

"Empire loves their damn lists.." he said hatefully. But something bothered Milla. The way Ralof and Hadvar looked at each other; they knew each other. There was no way two people who had never seen each other before could look at each other like that.

Hadvar's gaze moved from Ralof to the list, and his finger traced each line before he read it. "Ulfric Stormcloak, Jarl of Windhelm," he started. Ulfric walked towards him, passing him and the captain before placing himself in front of General Tullius.

Ralof's eyes followed Ulfric as he walked towards the block, and he mumbled, "It has been an honor, Jarl Ulfric."

"Ralof of Riverwood," Hadvar said next. Ralof obediently walked towards the block and placed himself next to two other Stormcloak soldiers in binds.

"Lokir of Rorikstead."

"No! I'm not a rebel!" Lokir yelled frightened. He took two steps closer to the captain and Hadvar. "You can't do this!"

In a hurry, he ran as fast as he could up the road he came from. Captain Nora tried to reach for him, but could not get the hold of him. "Halt!" she demanded.

"You're not gonna kill me!"

"Archers!" Nora yelled again to the archers on the watchtower. Milla noticed the arrow fly through the air and hit Lokir. She could immediately see him dead on the ground, the arrow poking out of his neck. All she could think about was her mother and the arrow through her throat. Nora looked back at Milla, narrowing her eyes, almost as if Milla was a new target. "Anyone else feel like running?"

Hadvar studied Milla and the list, scratching his head. "Wait. You there," he started, getting Milla's attention. "Step forward."

Milla took four short steps towards the captain and Hadvar, who stared at her. "Who are you?" Hadvar asked.

Milla swallowed hard and prepared herself for her answer. "Milla.." she mumbled at first. "Milla of Kar.."

She could not blame herself for almost calling Karthwasten her home. She had lived there from almost nineteen years. "Milla of Shor's Stone" she then finished.

Hadvar searched the list over and over again, but could not find what he was looking for. He looked at Nora and said, "Captain. She's not on the list."

Nora sneered, "Forget the list, she goes to the block." She enjoyed this, Milla was sure of it.

Again, Hadvar looked at Milla. She could see his eyes soften, and that he actually showed regrets for sending her to the chopping block. "I'm sorry, kinsman. At least you'll die in your homeland." He seemed like the most sympathetic of all the Imperial soldiers Milla had ever encountered. "Follow the captain, prisoner."

Milla did not have any other choice but to follow Captain Nora. She stopped right between two Stormcloak soldiers, and in eyesight of Ulfric, but he did not turn around to look at her.

Instead, he looked at General Tullius right in front of him. "Ulfric Stormcloak," Tullius started. "Some here at Helgen call you a hero. But a hero doesn't use a power like the Voice to murder his King and usurp his throne!"

Ulfric only grunted, but the grunts were muffled by the cloth he was gagged with.

"You started this war, plunged Skyrim into chaos when you murdered High King Torygg, and now the Empire is going to put you down and restore the peace," Tullius continued.

Suddenly, a roar came from the sky, behind the mountains and trees. It was large. Larger than a bear, and certainly larger than a sabre cat. "What was that?" Hadvar wondered unsettled.

General Tullius frowned, and took his eyes away from the sky. "It's nothing. Carry on."

Captain Nora smiled cruelly, "Yes, General Tullius." She then looked at the Priestess of Arkay next to her. "Give them their last rites."

The priestess raised her hands and took a deep breath. The first Stormcloak soldier was already on his was to the block. "As we commend your soul to Aetherius, blessings of the Eight Divines upon you-"

"Oh, for the love of Talos, shut up and get this over with!" the Stormcloak soldier interrupted. Milla could not imagine how the priestess would dare not mentioning Talos as the ninth Divine. He was just as much a Divine as the rest of them.

The priestess sneered and stepped back in a hurry, "As you wish.."

The Stormcloak soldier sighed, "Come on, I haven't got all morning."

Captain Nora pushed him down on his knees, before lifting her foot to push his head down on the block. "My ancestors are smiling at me, Imperials. Can you say the same?" the same soldier commented. The headsman lifted his axe over his head, and gave it a good swing on the Stormcloak's neck, and his head ended up in the basket next to the stony block.

Milla had seen a lot of blood, and a lot of injuries and deaths, but witnessing a man's head get chopped off really gave her a twist in her stomach. Nora pushed the body aside but the head stayed in its place. In the bloody basket.

"You Imperial bastards!" a female Stormcloak soldier and prisoner yelled.

Vilod, who Ralof had wondered if still was making the mead with Juniper berries, watched from his house behind them. "Justice!" he yelled.

Ingrid, another woman from the town of Helgen, who had rested against the rail on her porch when the carriages rolled in, cheered when the soldier's head got chopped off, "Death to the Stormcloaks!"

Ralof looked at his executed friend. "As fearless in death as he was in life.."

Captain Nora looked at Milla and pointed her finger at her. "Next, the Nord in the rags!"

The roar appeared again, behind the trees in the horizon, just like last time. Hadvar looked at Nora. "There it is again. Did you hear that?"

"I said, next prisoner!"

Hadvar looked at Milla, reaching his hand out to let her know it was her turn. "To the block, prisoner. Nice and easy."

As Milla stepped towards the block, she gave Ulfric a quick look. He did not look back. All he cared about, was staring intensely at General Tullius. She stopped in front of the piece of stone and looked helplessly at Hadvar, before Captain Nora put her hand on Milla's shoulder and pushed her down to her knees.

As her head rested on the cold block, Milla made eye-contact with the headsman and watched him lifting his axe over his head, before she moved her gaze to the ground in actual fear of what was really going on.

But in the corner of her eye, she could see a black shadowy creature appear on the sky. It had the same shape as the mark on her neck, that could only mean one thing…

"What in Oblivion is that?" General Tullius exclaimed as the creature headed towards the small tower in front of the area of the execution.

"Sentries, what do you see?" Captain Nora yelled and ran towards General Tullius and a group of Imperial soldiers, as the creature landed on the tower.

"Dragon!" the Stormcloak soldiers and prisoners yelled, and the Imperial soldiers pulled their swords out of their scabbards and readied their bows.

Milla's eyes widened as she drew her gaze towards the dragon, and she met its ruby-red eyes.

All of sudden, it opened its mouth as if it was about to make a loud roar, but instead, an intense wave of shock and the sound of thunder struck.

The headsman fell dead to the ground, and Milla saw Hadvar in front of her, trying to avoid the large, meteor-like flaming rocks that flew from the sky and set the wooden houses on fire. One of the rocks hit Milla and her vision was completely blurred, before she blacked out.


	14. Chapter 13

"Don't just stand there! Kill that damn thing!" General Tullius yelled, following the dragon with his eyes as it flew around in circles overhead. He looked at the chaotic town, feeling the sense of panic sneaking up on him. "Guards! Get the townspeople to safety!"

"Hey, Kinsman. Get up! Come on, the gods won't give us another chance," Ralof yelled, taking Milla's hand and helping her up to her feet. He started running towards a watchtower, waving Milla in his direction. "This way!"

Milla looked around like a lunatic, avoiding flaming meteors and the dragon's burning breath. She made it to the tower Ralof directed her to, falling to her knees by a set of stairs. There were two injured soldiers in there, and another one who was tending their wounds.

Ralof had stopped by the door to close it as soon as Milla stormed in. "Jarl Ulfric! What is that thing? Could the legends be true?"

"Legends don't burn down villages," Ulfric commented.

Hearing his voice made Milla's heart skip a beat. She had not heard his voice in nineteen years, and even though she had never forgotten what is sounded like, she missed it more than anything. Suddenly, another flaming rock hit the tower, shaking the tower so the soldier helping the injured ones fell to his feet.

"We need to move. Now!" Ulfric yelled, holding on to the well behind him. Ralof grabbed hold of Milla's shoulders to guide her up the tower. His touch made her jump, she had not expected that. "Up through the tower, let's go!" he told her quickly.

She shifted her feet and hurried up the stairs. Damn, it was difficult to run with tied hands. Another soldier tried clearing a path farther up the tower, smiling fearfully at Milla and Ralof as he noticed them. "We just need to move some of these rocks to clear the way!" he yelled through the noise. Less than a minute later, the dragon suddenly destroyed the wall, making everyone stumble backwards.

As the dragon made a large hole in the wall, it peeked in and burned the man who cleared the way alive. The dragon shouted in some strange language, just like Ulfric did nineteen years ago. After a couple of minutes of Milla thinking about the past, the dragon quickly eyed her and flew away.

Ralof hurried up the stairs, only to notice his fellow soldier burnt to death. He shook his head in anger before turning to Milla, touching her shoulder and pointing towards a destroyed tavern. "See that inn on the other side?" he asked loudly to get through all the noise. "Jump through the roof and get going. Go! We'll follow when we can!"

Milla nodded and did what Ralof told her to do, and took a leap of faith when she jumped into the tavern. It was dangerous, and she knew it, but it was the only way at the moment. Broken beams and burning tables could easily have killed her, but she managed.

She kept going until she found an exit in the floor below the one she landed onto, stopping as soon as she reached the doorway. From there, she noticed more people, and the Imperial officer that wrote down her name on the list, Hadvar.

"Haming, you need to get out of here, now!" Hadvar yelled to the young boy, who ran around to avoid the flaming rocks. He hurried to Hadvar, and Hadvar protected the boy as if he was the most important person there. "That a boy. You're doing great."

Hadvar left Haming with several other people by the wall, and as he ran towards an open passage between the burning houses and shattered towers, the dragon landed before him. The same fire breath came out of its mouth, and Hadvar ran back to Haming and the others as fast as he could. "Gods.. Everyone get back!" he yelled.

After running around in small circles for a while, trying to locate the dragon, he noticed Milla in the doorway. "Still alive, prisoner? Keep close to me if you want to stay that way," he called out to her while crouching low. He drew his gaze to Haming and the others, especially another man, Gunnar. "Gunnar! Take care of the boy. I have to find General Tullius and join the defense."

Gunnar helped Haming to a safer location, while Hadvar waited for Milla to follow him. The shadows of a tall and burning wall showed, and they headed towards it fast. "Stay close to the wall!" Hadvar yelled again. As they crouched low by the wall, the dragon landed on it, breathing fire at soldiers trying to kill it. The dragon was close enough for them to touch it, and if Milla's hands were not bound, she actually could have touched it.

After the dragon flew away, Hadvar and Milla hurried up a small staircase leading towards another inn. A cloud of black smoke rested over their heads as the wooden houses and buildings slowly burned to the ground.

"Come on, give me your hand, I'm getting you out of here!" Milla heard an Imperial soldier yell as she and Hadvar approached General Tullius and two other Imperial mages. Their hands sent out flaming balls, and Milla could not help but wonder what is was like to have ones hands on fire.

"Hadvar! Into the Keep, soldier! We're leaving!" Tullius yelled when he noticed the Imperial Nord. Hadvar then stormed towards the Helgen Keep with Milla on his heels.

He quickly turned to Milla, saying, "It's you and me, prisoner. Stay close!"

They hurried towards a curved bridge that steadily connected the walls, and there were archers on the pathways on the same walls. The two made it to the open area outside the Keep when they noticed Ralof coming from the other side. He had made it out!

"Ralof! You damned traitor. Out of my way!" Hadvar yelled at the blonde Nord.

Ralof shook his head, "We're escaping, Hadvar! You're not stopping us this time!"

Milla was caught between the two men, and could not help but think that there was something between those two than just opposite sides of the war. She was now caught between the Empire and the Stormcloaks. The answer was clear, which side she would pick, was clear. She could not betray the love of her life.

"Fine. I hope that dragon takes you all to Sovngarde!" was Hadvar's final comment, before he ran into the Keep.

"You!" Ralof called out to Milla. "Come on, into the Keep!"

Milla followed him willingly, shifting her feet before running towards the large set of doors. Only seconds later, they were inside and they were safe.


	15. Chapter 14

A patterned rug on the floor and banners on the walls made the room a lot more comfortable and calming. Milla had a good look around until she joined Ralof's side. Ralof was crouching low next to a dead soldier by a table, a candle poorly lit standing on it.

"We'll meet again in Sovngarde, brother," he said quietly, gently touching the soldier's cold and pale hand. He then stood up at turned to Milla. "Looks like we're the only ones who made it. That thing was a dragon. No doubt. Just like the children's stories, and the legends. The Harbingers of the End Times." He took a break to catch his breath. "We, uh… Better get moving. Come here, let me see if I can get those bindings off."

He grabbed his iron dagger and Milla's hands, fiercely cutting the rope off of her wrists. "There you go. You may as well take Gunjar's gear. He won't be needing it any more," he said as he threw the bindings on the floor.

Milla gave her wrists a quick rub before undressing Gunjar, taking his Stormcloak Cuirass and iron war axe.

Ralof looked at her, "Alright, get that armor on and give that axe a few swings. I'm going to see if I can find some way out of here."

He tried opening a door on one side of the room, and as he failed at opening it, he exclaimed, "Ah! This one is locked as well. Let's see about that gate instead."

He walked across the room to another gate, this one much larger that the other one. Milla on the other hand, made some final adjustments to the Cuirass and had a tight grip on the war axe.

She could hear Ralof exclaim behind her, and turned to him. "Damn!" he said. "No way to open this from our side."

Suddenly, the sound of voices struck them from the other side of the gate. Two Imperial soldiers and a captain appeared from around a corner, heading towards the two Nords.

Milla felt a burning rage inside her when she saw the captain. 'Captain Nora. Hmpf..' she thought to herself, disgusted by the sight of her.

"It's the Imperials! Take cover!" Ralof whispered and hurried behind a stony pillar next to the gate.

"Get this gate open!" the captain demanded, pointing at a lever close to the wall. Milla hated the sound of Captain Nora's voice and the slimy grin on her face. She just could not stand it.

The gate opened with a crack and the Imperials hurried into the room, only to notice Milla and Ralof crouching on the floor.  
One of them readied his sword and attacked Ralof, yelling, "For the Empire!"

Captain Nora stopped for a second to have a look at Milla, but Milla did not spare any powers. She slammed the war axe into the captain's armor, making her stumble backwards.

This was Milla's chance, she had the opportunity to send Nora to her death, and she was not going to waste it. She grabbed Nora's shoulder and pushed the axe into her shoulder, partly into her neck.

She died unexpectedly fast, and Ralof had already managed to kill the two soldiers.

"Wow," he commented afterwards. "You swing that axe better than I expected."

Milla searched through the captain's satchel so fast that Ralof had to stop what he was doing just to look at Milla.

"Hah! Found it!" she exclaimed and placed her wedding band where it was supposed to be.

"Maybe one of these Imperials have the key," Ralof said as he searched a soldier's pockets, but Milla had already found it. It was quite heavy for a door key, but that did not matter. It had some beautiful patterns on it; sort of reminding Milla of the beams in the Palace of the Kings.

"You have the key? See if it unlocks that door," Ralof then said and placed himself by the door he first tried to open, on the opposite side of the room. Milla followed him and put the key in the lock, twisting it once. The door gave a loud crack, and it opened without any troubles. "That's it! Come on, let's get out of here before the dragon brings the whole tower down on our heads."

The two Nords hurried through the door, running towards a staircase that led to another hallway. Milla tried to keep up with Ralof by running, but her legs were about to fail.

They walked for at bit and passed through doorway to yet another hallway. Three surviving Stormcloak soldiers came running towards them, but as they were about to reunite with Ralof and Milla, the roof collapsed over them.

"Look out!" Ralof yelled as he covered his face to not get any dust in his already sore eyes. "Damn, that dragon doesn't give up easy."

Ralof went to another door and opened it gently when he heard voices in the room next door.

"Grab everything important and let's move!" one said, his voice was deep and mumbling. "The dragon's burning everything to the ground."

"I just need to gather some more potions," another one said. His voice was not as mumbling, yet he sounded like one of those Imperial scums.

Ralof readied his longbow and aimed an arrow at the Imperial Captain. Milla swung her axe at the soldier as he tried to escape with the captain, and again, Ralof had to be impressed by her speed and skills.

"A storeroom..." he commented as the two Imperials were dead. "See if you can find any potions. We'll need them."

Milla searched the shelves, and found several useful potions to increase health, stamina and magicka. She could not fully understand why she would need any magicka potions, until she found a spell tome in a chest. After reading the tome, it felt like she had known the spell for years.

"Done? Let's get moving," Ralof said, waiting by the door.

The two ran further down the hallways, and suddenly, the sound of people shouting and yelling struck.

"Troll's blood! It's a torture room!" Ralof exclaimed as ran down a set of stairs towards the room.

Two other Stormcloak soldiers were fighting the Torturer's Assistants, and by the time Milla and Ralof were ready to help, they were already dead.

"Was Jarl Ulfric with you?" Ralof asked.

"No... I haven't seen him since the dragon showed up," the female soldier answered and placed her warhammer on her back.

* * *

As they were hurrying towards the exit, Ralof and Milla entered an open room in the cave they now were in.

"Hold up! There's a bear just ahead. See her?" Ralof whispered and pointed in the direction of the animal in front of them. "I'd rather not tangle with her right now. Let's try to sneak by. Just take it nice and slow, and watch where you step. Or if you're feeling lucky, you can take this bow. Might take her by surprise. Go ahead, I'll follow your lead and watch your back."

Milla took his longbow and arrows, and crouched low before aiming at the bear. 'This is going to be easy,' she thought, and smiled to herself. It took no more than two arrows to kill it.

"Sneaking is overrated, eh?" Ralof commented and laughed before he stood up from his crouching position to continue walking. "I must say, you wield any weapon better than I expected."

They continued to run down the muddy grounds on the way to the exit, and slowed down just as they approached the sight of daylight.

"That looks like the way out!" Ralof said cheerfully. "I knew we'd make it!"


	16. Chapter 15

'Finally out!' Milla thought, but was quickly dragged down behind the nearest tree.

"There he goes. Looks like he's gone for good this time," Ralof commented as the dragon flew away from Helgen. "No way to know if anyone else made it out alive, but this place is going to be swarming with Imperials soon enough. We'd better clear out of here."

They started walking down the road in front of them, and Milla felt freer than she had ever felt. She could have a normal conversation with Ralof without worrying about any Imperials or bears around every corner.

"My sister Gerdur runs the mill in Riverwood, just down the road," Ralof then said. "I'm sure she'll help you out. It's probably best if we split up. Good luck. I wouldn't have made it without your help today." Eventually, he disappeared behind some trees next to the road.

The last thing Milla wanted to do now was running, so she walked down the road slowly until she noticed three large stones. As she approached them faster, she could see the patterns on them more clearly. One for 'Thief', the other one for 'Mage', and the third one for 'Warrior'. The answer to which stone she would pick was obvious.

She placed her hand in the glowing hole at the top of the Warrior-stone, and a blue, shiny beam went to the sky.

* * *

Even though Milla loved wearing the Stormcloak Cuirass, she really missed the Steel armor Captain Nora took from her. If only she could find it somewhere...

"Sleep well?" Ralof's sister Gerdur asked when Milla sat down by the table.

"Yes. Thank you for letting me stay here," Milla smiled and sat down, having a bite of the bread.

"Oh no, thank _you _for helping Ralof," Gerdur said, sitting down opposite Milla. "And... There is one thing you could do for me. The Jarl needs to know if there's a dragon on the loose. Riverwood is defenseless. We need to get word to Jarl Balgruuf in Whiterun, to send whatever troops he can. If you'll do that for me, I'll be in your debt."

'Whiterun..." was all that went through Milla's head as she finished the dry end of the bread. Eventually, she looked at Gerdur with a smile on her face. "I'll do it."

She then stood up and left the house.

"Hey, where are you going?" Ralof asked when Milla approached the road to Whiterun.

"Your sister asked me to talk to the Jarl.. The Jarl in Whiterun," Milla stuttered.

"You alright?" Ralof wondered, after noticing Milla's now pale complexion.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a bit dizzy," Milla smiled after finding her balance.

"Well, good luck on your way," Ralof then smiled and went inside the house.

Milla let her tears fall when she left the town and took on the road to the capital city. "One day, Ulfric," she said quietly to herself.

Not long after, she spotted the top of Dragonsreach. She stopped for a second to remember the time she was in Whiterun with her parents, and if there was someone she was to be remembered by, it was Adrianne Avenicci, the blacksmith.

After running down a short hill, and passing a small meadery, she made it to an open farm.

"Kill it!" a female voice yelled

Milla reacted fast when she spotted a giant and three warriors trying to kill it. She readied her bow and aimed an arrow at the giant's head.

Another archer on the other side also shot a stream of arrows, but it was Milla's last arrow that killed it.

The warriors that originally fought the giant turned to Milla and had a look at her.

"You handle yourself well," the archer said. She seemed quite impressed by Milla's skills with the bow. "You could make for a decent Shield-Sister."

"Shield-Sister?" Milla wondered. She had never heard of that title before.

"An outsider, eh?" the archer then joked. "Never heard of the Companions? An order of warriors. We are brothers and sister in arms, and we show up to solve problems if the coin in good enough."

Milla noticed the other warriors studying her; one of them a female like the archer. Her hair was black and quite short, just like the male warrior's. He was taller than Milla, almost as tall as Ulfric, and he had a mumbling voice.

"I see," Milla said and studied all three of them.

"Come see Kodlak Whitemane if you're interested in joining us. I'm Aela, by the way," the archer, Aela, said before she went back to the road towards the city.

"I'll think about it," Milla smiled and nodded.

As the two warriors followed Aela, the man gave Milla a quick smile, almost like the smile Ulfric gave her just before her accident nineteen years ago.

Without noticing, she smiled at him as well, but her angry frown reappeared as soon as she realized what she had done.

"What are you doing, Milla?" she said to herself quietly. "Don't give him the wrong impression.

* * *

After making her way through the city and up the stairs to Dragonsreach, Milla was finally able to give the Jarl the news about the dragon.

She remembered everything Ulfric had told her about Whiterun's Jarl. Jarl Balgruuf the Greater.

The two of them used to be friends before the Great War and years after. He had never told her why they stopped being friends, though. It was left to her to figure out herself.

As she entered the wooden building, a wave of sorrow went through her. The main hall in Dragonsreach reminded her of the main hall in the Palace of the Kings, only in a wooden form.

As she walked towards the fireplace and throne, a female dark elf dressed in a leather armor with her sword drawn approached her.

"What is the meaning of this interruption? Jarl Balgruuf is not receiving visitors," the elf said, pointing her iron sword at Milla.

"I have news from Helgen. About the dragon attacks," Milla said with hesitation, as if that exact sentence was thoroughly rehearsed.

The elf lowered her sword. "Well, that explains why the guards let you in. Come on, then. The Jarl would want to speak to you personally."

Doubtfully, she showed Milla to Jarl Balgruuf.

"So, you were at Helgen. You saw this dragon with your own eyes," the Jarl asked as soon as Milla approached him.

Milla looked at him, slightly nodding. "Yes," she said. "I had a great view while the Imperials were trying to chop my head off." She was not afraid of telling a joke either.

"Really?" Jarl Balgruuf said surprised. "You're certainly... Forthright about your criminal past. But it's none of my concern who the Imperials want to execute. What I want to know now is exactly what happened at Helgen."

"You see, the thing is..." Milla started, almost interrupting the Jarl. "I don't have a criminal past." She knew well how much of a lie that was, but at the same time, she knew that she told the truth.

After a pause, she continued. "Uhm... The dragon... Destroyed Helgen. And last time I saw it, it was heading this way."

"By Ysmir..." the Jarl whispered to himself. "Irileth was right!"

"My Lord, we should send troops to Riverwood at once," the elf, Irileth, suggested. "It's in the most immediate danger, if that dragons is lurking in the mountains."

"The Jarl of Falkreath will view that as a provocation!" the Jarl's steward and Adrianne the blacksmith's father, Proventus Avenicci, said. "He'll assume we're preparing to join Ulfric's side and attack him."

"Enough!" the Jarl exclaimed. "I'll not stand idly by while a dragon burns my hold and slaughters my people! Irileth, send a detachment to Riverwood at once."

"Yes, my Jarl," Irileth said and went up the staircase that lead to a table where the map over Skyrim.

"Well done. You sought me out on your own initiative," the Jarl told Milla with admiration. "You've done Whiterun a service, and I won't forget it."

He gave Milla a studded Imperial armor from his personal armory as a gift for what she had done, and sent her off.

She tried her best to avoid throwing the armor on the floor before she angrily turned around to make her way to the door.

"There is... another thing you could do for me. Suitable for someone with your particular talents, perhaps," the Jarl said, stopping Milla on her way. "Come, let's find Farengar, my court wizard. He's been looking into a matter related to these dragons and... Rumors of dragons."

He stood up from his throne and guided Milla to an open office where the mage had his desk, documents, bedroom and belongings.


	17. Chapter 16

At the Palace of the Kings, Ulfric Stormcloak was back on his throne. Galmar hurried in and out of the war room like a lunatic, trying to tell Ulfric about his plans now that High King Torygg was dead.

Everything he told Ulfric went into his mind and back out right away, as the Jarl gave the main hall an empty stare.

He thought about Milla constantly, and wondered what she would have looked like if she was there. He kept picturing her inside his head, how she would have run up and down the halls and waving her beautiful, blonde hair around.

"Jarl, are you listening?" he could hear Galmar ask in the distance.

"No, Galmar. I am not," the Jarl answered without even lifting an eye and looking at the man standing in front of him.

"If this is Milla again, you have to let it go. She is dead, Ulfric!" Galmar said, raising his voice a bit at the end.

"You don't know that, Galmar. None of us knows that..." Ulfric said and stood up from his throne, walking in to the war room.

"If she was alive, don't you think have come home by now?" Galmar wondered, even though he already knew the answer to what he just asked.

Ulfric only looked at Galmar and shook his head, giving a look of denial and showing his second-in-command that he was wrong. After a pause, he placed his hands on the map on the table and studied the red flag that was placed on the city of Whiterun.

"What would you have me do?" he then asked, nothing more and nothing less.

"If he's not with us, he's against us..." Galmar responded, his dark and growling voice echoing through the room.

"He knows that. They all know that..." Ulfric mumbled as he made his way out of the war room and back to his throne.

"How long are you going to wait? I know he was your friend, but you can't keep waiting like this..." Galmar fussed, following the Jarl into the main hall.

"You think I need to send Balgruuf a stronger message, don't you?" Ulfric said quietly.

Galmar gave a grin and a chuckle. "If by message, you mean shoving a sword through his gullet, then yes, I do."

"Taking his city and leaving him in disgrace would make a more powerful statement, the other Jarls will understand that I'm not the one to joke with," Ulfric agreed, giving a slight nod.

"Finally! So we're ready to start this war in earnest, then?" Galmar exclaimed.

"Soon..." Ulfric nodded again, rubbing his beard.

"I still say you should take them all out like you did Deadking Torygg," Galmar repeated from earlier when Ulfric did not listen.

"Torygg was merely a message to the other Jarls. Whoever we can replace them with will need the support of our armies," Ulfric said before he stood up and made his way back to the war room.

The grin on Galmar's face was too wide to remove, and as he followed Ulfric wherever he went, he commented, "We're ready when you are."

"Things hinge on Whiterun. If we can take the city without bloodshed, all the better. But if not..." the Jarl sighed, placing himself by one of the windows in the war room.

Galmar looked at him as the Jarl looked out the window, noticing the worried tone in his voice. "The people are behind you."

The Jarl sighed again, heavier this time. "Many I fear... Still need convincing."

"Then let them die with their false kings!" Galmar raised his voice.

There was a pause between the two men, Ulfric gazing over the river and ocean through the window and Galmar studying the map on the table.

"We've been soldiers a long time..." Ulfric then broke the silence. "We know the price of freedom. The people are still weighing things in their hearts."

"What's left of Skyrim to wager?" Galmar asked suddenly, placing his hands on the map.

Ulfric did his best to not express how stupid Galmar's question was by biting his lip discreetly. He then turned around to look at his second-in-command. "They have families to think of, Galmar..."

Galmar joined Ulfric's side and placed his hand on the Jarl's shoulder. "Hoe many of their sons and daughters follow your banner? We are their families!"

Ulfric smiled as he looked at Galmar. "Well put, friend. Tell me, Galmar, why do you fight for me?"

"I'd follow you into the depths of Oblivion, you know that," Galmar answered simply, trying to understand why Ulfric would ask such a question. They had been friends a long time. Surely, he would know the answer.

"Yes, but why do you fight? If not for me, what then?" Ulfric asked again.

"I'll die before elves dictate the fates of men. Haven't I told you this before? Are we not one in this?" Galmar wondered, a frown appearing on his forehead.

"I fight for the men I've held in my arms, dying on foreign soil!" Ulfric started, preparing to speak again as he walked back to his throne again. "I fight for their wives and children who's name I heard whispered in their last breaths. I fight for we few who did come home, only to find our country full of strangers wearing familiar faces!"

Ulfric's voice was louder now, and instead of sitting down on his throne, he stood in front of it and faced Galmar as he spoke. ""I fight for my people impoverished to pay the debts of an Empire too weak rule them, yet brands them criminals for wanting to rule themselves!" He paused and took a deep breath.

He was fully aware that he now was giving a speech, and though that was not intended, he still kept it going.

"I fight so that all the fighting I've already done hasn't been for nothing. I fight... because I must..." he finished, looking at the floor and avoiding the tear that discreetly appeared in the corner of his eye.

"Your words give voice to what we all feel, Ulfric. And that is why you will be High King eventually," Galmar promised, hoping his words gave some kind of comfort.


	18. Chapter 17

Milla strolled through Whiterun cheerfully, on her way to give Farengar Secret-Fire the stone tablet he had sent her to retrieve. As much as she hated Bleak Falls Barrow, she got it and could now give it to the court wizard.

She noticed Eorlund Gray-Mane at the top of a small hill, which was commonly known as the Skyforge.

Adrianne Avenicci had told her about that forge and the man tending it when she had met with Adrianne a couple of years after her first trip to Whiterun. Apparently, he made the best arms and armor in all of Skyrim.

As she walked up the last set of stairs, she started to study the stone tablet. Farengar had called it a 'Dragonstone'. The crosses on the stone showed burial mounds for dragons that were killed in earlier eras.

One thing Milla noticed was the cross near Kynesgrove. She remembered when she visited the small town for the first time and stood on the burial mound. She was quite fascinated by the standing stones around the burial site. She had never seen anything like it.

The smell of freshly cooked venison and bread hit Milla in the face when she entered the main hall of Dragonsreach, and she continued approaching the throne.

Farengar stood at his usual spot in his office, only now he had a visitor there. She stood by his desk, looking over a book.

"You see? The terminology is clearly First Era or even earlier," the mage told the mysterious person by his desk. "I'm convinced this is a copy of a much older text."

Milla approached Farengar slowly, and soon noticed how the other person watched her. It was a woman; that was revealed by the armor she was wearing, but her face was covered by her cowl.

"Ah, the Dragonstone of Bleak Falls Barrow! Seems you are a cut above all the brutes the Jarl sends my way," Farengar exclaimed.

Milla chuckled, "So, what about my reward?"

"You'll have to see the Jarl about that. Maybe his steward, Avenicci. I'm sure one of them will pay you appropriately. My... Associate here will be pleased to see your handiwork. She discovered its location, by means she had so far declined to share with me," the mage responded and turned to the associate. "So your information was right after all. And we have our friend here to thank for recovering it for us." He then turned to Milla and offered a smile as best as he could.

"You went into Bleak Falls Barrow and got that? Nice work," the woman told Milla.

Her armor was brown-leathered, and the matching cowl still covered her face.

"Farengar!" the Jarl's housecarl Irileth yelled, almost out of breath. "Farengar, you need to come at once. A dragon's been sighted nearby."

Milla turned to Irileth in curiosity, and noticed the drops of sweat on the dark elf's skin.

"You should come too," she said and met Milla's eyes. "Jarl Balgruuf is waiting."

"A dragon? How exciting! Where was it seen? What was it doing?" Farengar exclaimed again and followed Irileth, almost acting like a small child before opening presents.

Milla followed as well, thinking about the dragon in Helgen. Could it be the same dragon? Or were the dragons really coming back for good?

"So, Irileth tells me you come from the western watchtower?" the Jarl said to a shaken guard, who only gave a nod as an answer.

"Tell his what you told me. About the dragon," Irileth turned to the guard and told him in comforting tone.

"Uhm... That's right. We saw it coming from the south. It was fast... Faster than anything I've ever seen," he explained, looking at the Jarl.

Milla placed herself next to the Jarl, and watched the guard's actions. He was obviously terrified.

"What did it do? Is it attacking the watchtower?" the Jarls wondered, his eyes widening.

"No, my lord," the guard responded. "It was just circling overhead when I left. I never ran so fast in my life... I thought it would come after me for sure."

"Good work, son," Balgruuf gave a smile to the exhausted guard. "We'll take it from here. Head down to the barracks for some food and rest. You've earned it."

The guard thanked the Jarl greatly before heading down the stairs to get to the barracks down by the gate.

Jarl Balgruuf then turned to Irileth. "Irileth, you better gather some guardsmen and get down there," he told her harshly.

"I've already ordered my men to muster near the main gate," the housecarl responded calmly, though her head was spinning and she felt more and more afraid.

"Good. Don't fail me," Balgruuf mumbled before he turned to Milla. "There's not time to stand on ceremony, my friend. I need your help again. I want you to go with Irileth and fight this dragon. You survived Helgen, so you have more experience with dragons than anyone else here. But I haven't forgotten the service you did for me in retrieving the Dragonstone for Farengar. As a token of my esteem, I have instructed Avenicci that you are now permitted to purchase property in the city. And please accept this gift from my personal armory."

He gave Milla an enchanted steel sword before he gestured her to go with Irileth, who waited by the stairs leading to the main hall.

"I should come along. I would very much like to see this dragon," Farengar suggested sarcastically as always.

"No! I can't afford to risk both of you. I need you here working on ways to defend the city against these dragons," Balgruuf said quickly, sending the court wizard back to his office.

"One last thing, Irileth," Balgruuf then said as he caught up with the two women. "This isn't a death or glory mission. I need to know what we're dealing with."

"Don't worry, my lord. I'm the very soul of caution," Irileth responded, and gave the Jarl a smile.


	19. Chapter 18

Milla jogged slowly towards the western watchtower where the dragon had been spotted. Irileth had told her to go there as she stayed behind to gather more men for the fight.

"I _need _to find my armor..." she said to herself as she reached a large rock a few feet in front of the destroyed tower. She was still wearing the Stormcloak Cuirass she had taken from the dead soldier in Helgen Keep when she and Ralof escaped, and although she wore the Cuirass with pride, she did not feel as comfortable as when she wore her steel armor. It was a big part of her, no doubt about that.

She crouched low behind the large rocks and waited for Irileth and her men to join her. From time to time, she stood up and studied the tower to make sure nothing happened before the others were there.

Soon, they came running in an incredible speed, and Milla was impressed that Irileth had managed to gather so many guards.

"No signs of any dragon right now, but it sure looks like he's been here..." Irileth commented as she jogged past Milla, with the guards hurrying after. "I know it looks bad, but we've got to figure out what happened. Spread out! Look for survivors. We need to know what we're dealing with."

Milla ran towards the tower entrance immediately, as she had seen movements there when she arrived and studied the tower.

"No! Get back! It's still here somewhere! Hroki and Tor got grabbed when they tried to make a run for it!" an injured guard shouted as soon as he noticed Milla.

"Get inside the tower, and let us deal with it. Don't get any more injured than you already are," Milla pushed, and hurried inside the tower. When she had helped the injured guard to sit down and get some rest, she ran farther up the tower to keep watch.

"Do you see anything?" Irileth asked Milla when she spotted the Nord at the top of the tower.

Before Milla could answer, a shadow appeared on the sky, behind the mountains.

"Here he comes! Find cover and let every arrow count!" Irileth instructed and readied her sword as the dragon approached them faster.

Milla stayed at the top of the tower and aimed her steel arrows at the dragon's head. Over the years, she had become better at archery, and knew how to aim and shoot at things that were moving.

Thick clouds of dark smoke stood up from the tower and the area around it. Milla was completely covered in smoke, but that did not stop her from shooting.

Irileth managed the dragon when it was on the ground, slicing its scales with her sword and sending waves of shock through its body.

All the guards with swords fought it up close, while the archers kept their distance so they could aim and shoot.

Suddenly, the dragon grabbed a guard with its mouth and shook him a few times before throwing him as far away as the others could see.

Milla put her bow on the back and ran down the flaming stairs so she could join the others on the ground. The dragon was obviously a lot weaker, and did not seem to be able to fly. That made everything easier.

She grabbed her sword and joined the others. The dragon seemed bigger when she got closer, but she could not back away because it seemed bigger. It was weaker and easier to fight, that was everything that mattered.

She grabbed the dragon's wing and held onto it as Irileth pierced it with her sword several times. Climbing was one of Milla's best characteristics, but mountains and wooden houses usually did not move when she climbed them.

It took some time, but she managed to climb to its head. She almost lost her balance a few times, but luckily, she managed to stay on her feet. Then, she pierced its forehead, and if dragons were anything like other animals, getting a sword through its forehead would kill it even faster.

The dragon tried to get her off its head, but she was determined to stay up there, and as the archers shot their final arrow and Irileth shot her final lightning bolt through the dragon's body, it began to lose its life.

"Dovahkiin! No!" A strange voice shouted at them when Milla had jumped down from the dragon's head and everyone had put their weapons down. To Milla, it almost sounded as if the dragon was shouting at her.

Everyone stared at the beast in front of them, except Irileth. She was already running around, making sure everyone was alright.

Several guards had abandoned their rounds to get a glimpse of the dead dragon, and they got a rather good look at it too. Surely, they had never seen a dragon their whole life.

All of a sudden, an intense wind appeared from the dragon's body, and its scales slowly turned into dust. The wind was absorbed into Milla's body, in a way no one could explain.

Everyone was looking at her now. Everyone's eyes were drawn towards her, and as the wind stopped, she felt perfectly fine.

"You... Must be Dragonborn!" a guard said to her in shock.

Another guard started approaching her, his eyes were widened by what he had just seen. "I can't believe it!" he started. "You're Dragonborn!"

Milla frowned. "Dragonborn? What do you mean?"

"In the very oldest tales, back from when there still were dragons in Skyrim, the Dragonborn would slay the dragons and steal their power. That's what you just did, isn't it? Absorbed that dragon's power?" the guard explained to her, quite convinced that Milla was the Dragonborn.

"I guess you're right," Milla responded, unsure about the situation.

"There's one way to find out. Try to Shout!" another guard suggested. "According to the old legends, only the Dragonborn can Shout without training, the way the dragons do."

Milla frowned again and nodded hesitantly before she turned away from the guards and Irileth, where no one could get hurt.

'Alright... Here I go,' she thought to herself as she closed her eyes and prepared herself to Shout.

"_FUS!_" The word came out of her mouth as if someone pulled it out and threw it into the air. Almost as if she had known how to Shout her whole life. It came as a shock to Milla, and not to mention the guards behind her.

"What do you say, Irileth?" a guard asked the Dunmer. "You're being awfully quiet."

She gave a loud grunt. "Some of you would be better off keeping quiet than flapping your gums on matters you don't know anything about." She circled the enormous dragon bones before putting her hand on its head. "Here's a dead dragon, and that's something I definitely understand. Now we know how we can kill them. But I don't need some mythical Dragonborn. Someone that can put down a dragon is more than enough for me."

"You wouldn't understand, Housecarl. You ain't a Nord," a guard said gently, making Irileth frown.

"I've been all across Tamriel. I've seen plenty of things just as outlandish as this," she claimed. "I'd advise you all to trust the strength of your sword arm over tales and legends."

After she had finished preaching, she ordered all the guards to get back on their rounds or back to the city. Milla was the only one left there when the others had left, and she decided to search the dragon. Perhaps she could find something interesting.

"Ah, good. Arrows. That will come in handy," she mumbled to herself, a smile appeared on her face. All the fur boots, iron shields and the Whiterun's guard armor were left in a large pile next to the dragon bones.

"Ouch!" she then exclaimed when she accidentally bumped her finger into a steel plate. With her eyes and mouth wide open, she slowly lifted up her lost steel armor. To make sure it was hers, she checked the leather belt around the waist, where she and Ulfric had cut in 'M+U' on a romantic night under the stars.

She was right. It was hers.

"I can't believe it..." she whispered, a tear running down her cheek. For some strange reason, she was glad the dragon had showed up. Not only did she get her armor back, she was knew who she truly was. Dragonborn.


End file.
